Inverness man says thanks for the gift of life ahead of World Kidney Day
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A 42-year-old Inverness man whose life was saved by both his wife and a complete stranger has spoken of his gratitude ahead of World Kidney Day tomorrow.
Douglas Roehling received the kidney transplant he desperately needed in February 2017 after his wife Michaela donated a kidney to the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme.
That donation in turn allowed him to receive a kidney from another altruistic donor.
He has since been able to meet his donor, Caroline Hollinshead from Cornwall, after travelling with his wife to Birmingham in September 2018 to say thanks in person.
Mr Roehling was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2015 after a routine work check up showed he had high blood pressure. After seeing his GP, he was referred to a renal clinic for blood tests and biopsies, which led to his diagnosis. He started peritoneal dialysis and was listed for transplant a year later.
“The diagnosis was like a bolt from the blue," he said. "Not long after I was diagnosed I became really ill. I had no energy, pain in my kidneys and was struggling to work as I was sleeping up to 16 hours a day.
“Dialysis was really hard. I had an infection from day one, which caused a lot of issues. After four months I moved to haemodialysis at Raigmore Hospital three times a week.
"It took a while to stabilise on that, as I kept having panic attacks, I was taking reactions to dialysis medications, and my blood pressure was dropping causing me to crash ten minutes into dialysis.
“Things did get better, and I did OK on dialysis, but life went on hold. I spent the next year waiting for the phone call that a suitable donor had been found. That feeling never really left me.”
He explored living donation, and members of his family came forward, but his brother was ruled out as a potential donor after further testing.
At this point Mrs Roehling put herself forward to be considered for the paired sharing scheme and enrolled after tests were completed.
Mr Roehling said: “We just left everything in the hands of the NHS. When the November match run came round we found out there was a match and the transplant was scheduled for January, which was the best feeling.
"Michaela then got the flu, so the surgery was delayed by a month, but when everything went ahead it went seamlessly for both me and Michaela.
“When I woke up from surgery I felt better instantly. It was quite incredible the difference the new kidney made and all the more special given what both Caroline and Michaela went through to make it happen.”
After the surgery he wrote a letter which was delivered via a transplant co-ordinator, thanking his donor for what they’d done for him. She wrote back and from there on in they have been in regular contact.
More than 800 people in Scotland have helped others by donating a kidney in the last decade – a kidney from a living donor generally offers the best outcomes for patients living with kidney failure who need a transplant.
There are two routes to living kidney donation – directed donation where a friend, relative or partner donates to a loved one, or non-directed altruistic donation which involves a person donating to a stranger.
The UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme was established to help increase the number of people who can receive transplants from living kidney donors, and the opportunities for patients who wait a long time for a transplant.
Through the scheme, when a donor and recipient already know each other but are not a match, they are paired with another donor and recipient in the same situation who ‘swap’ donors. This can also involve more than two pairs.
Jen Lumsdaine, a lead nurse with Living Donation Scotland, said: “This story demonstrates how living donation can transform the life of someone living with kidney failure. A healthy person can lead a completely normal life with one kidney, and anyone can volunteer to find out more about donating, but it must be something they choose to do and feel comfortable doing.
“Living donation is an exceptional gift, and will continue to be a vital part of continuing to improve transplant numbers when opt-out legislation is introduced, so more lives can be saved and transformed.”
To find out more about living donation visit livingdonationscotland.org
