Edinburgh marathon runner to meet Highlands kidney donor who saved his life in 'beautiful' act

An Edinburgh marathon runner who has a second chance with his family after a life-saving transplant has thanked the kind-hearted stranger who donated her kidney.
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After he was diagnosed with stage five kidney disease Chris Madden went from running marathons to being barely able to play with his children.

Now the 42-year-old is able to do activities again with his young children Harry, eight, and Georgia, four, and has even got back into running.

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Chris said: “I was really worried that I was running out of time, but when the team found a match for me, I couldn’t believe it.

Edinburgh dad Chris Madden is going to meet organ donor Val Cooper who saved his lifeEdinburgh dad Chris Madden is going to meet organ donor Val Cooper who saved his life
Edinburgh dad Chris Madden is going to meet organ donor Val Cooper who saved his life

“When I was being wheeled out of theatre and realised the transplant had been successful, I started shouting for joy and the nurses had to calm me down.

“14 months on, I’m now able to play with my kids, go on weekends away and I’ve even started some light running.

“I really can’t imagine someone donating to a stranger. It’s the most selfless act, which can only be described as beautiful.”

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Chris, an electrical engineer, was shocked when he and his wife Beverley, 43, were told he had aggressive kidney disease in 2020.

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He was so ill that he began gruelling kidney dialysis within three weeks and was almost immediately put on the donor waiting list in the hope a match could be found.

Chris said: “It was a shock – I had been to the doctor with a sore head and suddenly I was told that my kidneys didn’t work. I would have to have dialysis and a kidney transplant.

“I have always been someone who keeps fit and healthy, but this came about due to a very rare scarring on my kidneys.

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“As soon as I went on dialysis, I pretty much disappeared from my two young kids. I always had energy, but it became hard enough to muster enough energy to play with the children for half an hour - and that absolutely broke me.”

However, big-hearted Val Cooper, 48, turned the family’s life around when she decided to donate a kidney to a stranger. The mum, from Glen Urquhart, in the Highlands – nearly 200 miles away – read a story about organ donation and wanted to help.

Her hopes were almost dashed when doctors found she had an aneurysm on her kidney, but they were able to fix it and carry on. Chris and Val had the life-changing living donation and kidney transplant surgeries at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) during the pandemic in June 2021.

Shortly after the transplant, Chris got in touch and the pair corresponded by letter for a few months.

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Now they have agreed to meet so that Chris can properly thank Val in person and she can see the huge difference that her selfless gift has made.

For many people with end stage kidney failure, a transplant significantly increases life expectancy. According to the NHS Lothian Living Kidney Donation team, only around a third of living donor transplants in Edinburgh are from a genetically related donor.

The shortage of organ donors in the UK means that many patients will wait on average three years for a kidney from a deceased donor.

Chris waited just a year, thanks to a woman he had never met who decided she wanted to help. He said: “I think it will be pure emotion when I meet Val, I don’t even know how to put into words how thankful I am.”

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Val said: “Donating my kidney has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done and I have absolutely no regrets. The living donor transplant team at the RIE were amazing and I was back to work within six weeks after the operation.”

Nina Kunkel, Chris and Val’s Transplant Co-ordinator, who is based in the RIE, NHS Lothian, said: “This was quite an unusual situation where our altruistic donor wanted to have her kidney removed not alone as treatment for her aneurysm, but in hope that once removed, the aneurysm could be repaired so that her kidney could still be donated to someone in need.

“We couldn’t confirm it was possible until her kidney was removed but the team were delighted that we could facilitate her wishes and equally pleased that the transplant was such a success for the recipient. We wish them both the very best.”

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