Son 'overwhelmed' by mum's kidney donation

Gill Raggett donated the kidney to her son Luke in July

A man has paid tribute to his mother after she donated a kidney to him to improve his quality of life.

Luke Raggett said he was "overwhelmed" when Gill Raggett, 70, who lives in Salisbury, Wiltshire, donated a kidney to him in July.

Mr Raggett, who lives in London but was born in Salisbury, has lived with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) since he was a teenager, initially suffering with cramps and back pain before his kidney function declined to the point where he needed a transplant.

He added "the unimaginably large gift" had made a real difference to his "quality of life" and said he did not know how he would ever be able to repay her kindness.

More than 64,000 people in Wiltshire live with kidney disease, with an expectation that the number of people on dialysis may increase by 50% in the next decade.

Two months after the operation, mother and son are looking to raise awareness of kidney disease and the lack of living donors as part of Organ Donation week, which began on Monday.

Mr Raggett says it was an "unimaginably large gift"

"Before the surgery, I was at 13% function, and that's why I required a kidney transplant," Mr Raggett said.

He explained that "obviously" he was "just very overwhelmed" that his mum "would even want to put herself in that position".

"I know that most mothers and fathers will do anything for their kids, so I wasn't really going to have a choice whether she wanted to do it or not. I think that's a very brave and heroic thing to do."

'No-brainer'

He added: "It was quite nerve-wracking, because I didn't want anything potentially bad to happen to her at all through the process."

Ms Raggett defied expectations by donating a kidney at the age of 70, despite being told years earlier that she was unlikely to be able to do so.

She said it had been an easy decision.

"It was a no-brainer, he's my son and it was going to make a big difference to his future life.

"I was able to ask questions all along the way through. I could also talk to other people who had donated kidneys to allay any fears.

"I don't see myself as a hero, the real heroes are the ones who donate to complete strangers."