When I put another page on this website I often wonder if anyone is bothering to read it! So I was really pleased to receive an email through the website from a person called Leroy..    Very kindly Leroy asked if there was anything he could do to help promote the cause of transplants and donation along the lines of what I am trying to do with Dteg. So I asked Leroy f he would share his expeience of the transplant community.   Leroy is another of those extraordinary people who has donated his kidney to a complete stranger.

I believe it means a great deal if a someone is prepared to freely give their time and skills to help others in need. I think it takes an exceptional kind of person to actually share the gift of life with other people – especially people they do not even know. This is precisely what blood and bone marrow donors do for society. Increasingly more donors are giving one of their kidneys to complete strangers. Leroy Hobden became the fifth person in the UK to do just that following the implementation of the Human Tissue Act in 2006.

Tragically Leroy’s brother died of leukaemia back in 1977. Daniel was just seven years of age. Despite this great loss in his family’s life, Leroy decided he would help another family by donating a kidney – to prevent that family suffering in the way his did. He decided to take this step over ten years ago, but it wasn’t until the law was changed that Leroy could put his plan into action.

Leroy explains that he emailed the Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton where he was guided through the process that took well over a year to complete. Everyone that wants to be a living kidney donor has to be assessed very carefully.

All medical procedures should not cause lasting harm. A patient with kidney failure being treated on dialysis can only benefit from a successful kidney transplant. For the potential donor the outcome is not so clear cut. All surgery involves an element of risk. To have a kidney removed under general anaesthetic comes with risk and the potential for harm. This calculated risk is tolerable if the well being of a loved one is at stake, but to do this for a complete stranger is a remarkable act of civic generosity.

Leroy is a very modest and unassuming person. In his words he “just wanted to help someone less fortunate than myself.” So for most if us that might involve putting some money in a charity collection box. For Leroy it meant hours of tests and then an operation to remove a kidney which took place on 12th February 2008 at St George’s Hospital.

Leroy became the fifth person in the UK to be a ‘stranger’ donor. Aged 40 at the time Leroy spent 3 days in hospital. He admits the process was sore, but he is now fully recovered and going about his business as a gardener around the Cowbeech area near Hailsham. He loves playing darts and encouraging people to think about becoming donors. At first his parents did not want Leroy to take the risk of becoming a living donor, but are now very proud of what he has achieved for a complete stranger who they will probably never meet. Who knows, one of Leroy’s darts mates could be the lucky recipient without either of them realising it!

Leroy believes that the UK should move to an opt-out system of consent for organ donation because he feels this would help to save more lives. In the meantime living donors play an invaluable part in the transplant programme in the UK as the figures below show in the statement from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA):

24 June 2009.

Since being established in 2006, the HTA has enabled a more flexible approach to who can donate to whom, so that more people can benefit from a living-donor transplant. The first altruistic donor was approved in May 2007 and, since then, 22 altruistic donor transplants have gone ahead.

Vicki Chapman, Director of Policy and Strategy at the HTA said:

"It is remarkable to see an increase in the number of people who want to donate a kidney to someone they do not know. We expected to see a small number of cases when we first started approving this type of transplant, but we did not expect to see the number rise so significantly after just one year. New figures from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) show a 50% increase in the number of people approved to donate a kidney to someone they do not know; 15 people were approved in 2008/09 compared to 10 in 2007/08.

"Donating a kidney to someone you do not know really is an altruistic act; the medical tests take time and the procedure is not without risk. It is the role of the HTA to ensure that those giving so generously fully understand the risks involved."

Most organs for transplants are donated from people who have died, but every year, more and more people receive organs from living donors. In 2008/09 the HTA approved 1,023 living donations compared to 971 in 2007/08.

The HTA is responsible for approving all transplants involving living people, following an independent assessment process. The process ensures that the donor and recipient have been thoroughly assessed and understand what is involved in giving and receiving an organ, and that the risks have been properly explained."

Argus Award

So Leroy is a very rare individual indeed – just one of twenty-two people that have come forward to be altruistic donors. Jessica Bauldry, a journalist for the local Argus newspaper also thinks Leroy is a special breed of person. She said:

"I would like to nominate Leroy for an 'Achievement Award' for unselfishly donating a kidney to a complete stranger. Leroy Hobden offered this gift of life in memory of his younger brother Daniel, who died from leukaemia in the 1970’s. He hopes his selfless act will save more than one life by encouraging others to sign up to the donor register. Mr Hobden said: 'Not many people do this kind of thing. I thought this would be a good way to raise awareness. My brother was my main motivation. When he died, organ and tissue donation was rarer than it is now. We all suffered a lot then so this is for my brother.' His donation was made possible after the Government changed the law last year to allow donations to take place from living donors to strangers. "

I'm really glad that Jessica nominated Leroy for this award. I fully respect the fact that living donors cannot receive financial reward, but society owes people like Leroy such a debt of thanks that perhaps it is time to acknowledge their kindness in a truly meaningful way?

You can read more about Leroy's award at the following web link for the Argus: [The Argus Awards]

You can read about other altruistic kidney donors in the following Daily Mail web link. [The Daily Mail article]

The HTA leaflet ‘Information about living donor-transplants' gives more information about the role of the HTA in approving organ donations from living people. The leaflet is available from the HTA website at: [HTA leaflet]

TRANSPLANTS SAVE LIVES, MONEY and MISERY.