Husband saved his new wife's life by donating her a kidney after she was told the day before their wedding she needed a transplant.

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A husband has saved his bride’s life by giving her one of his kidneys - after she discovered she needed a transplant on the eve of their wedding.
Sarah Dalton, from Dublin, faced years of gruelling dialysis, as her life hung in the balance while she waited for a kidney donor.
But her husband, Conor, 31, offered to donate his own kidney, and the pair underwent the lifesaving surgery together.

Sarah Dalton was told she needed a kidney transplant the day before her wedding to Conor. When no deceased donor could be found, Mr Dalton offered his wife one of his kidneys

Mrs Dalton said: ‘I don’t know how I’ll ever repay Conor for what he’s done for me.
‘He’s the most generous person I know and I could not have asked for a better gift.
‘He’s changed, and saved, my life - he’s one in a million.’
Mrs Dalton was diagnosed with a kidney condition known as reflux nephropathy when she was a child.

 

The condition means the tubes from her kidneys to her bladder are positioned wrongly so they allow urine to flow back up from the bladder to the kidneys.
After receiving her first kidney transplant at the age of 17 the music teacher had hoped she could put her health problems behind her.
But on the day before her wedding in 2011, she was told that her donated kidney was beginning to fail.
Mrs Dalton said: ‘I had a hospital appointment the day before I married Conor and I was more or less told that I would need a new kidney.

Mrs Dalton received a new kidney from her husband last month and the couple are now recovering at home. Mrs Dalton said: 'I can't begin to describe what an incredible thing Conor has done for me'

‘I knew the donated kidney wouldn’t last forever but it was still such a shock.

‘I was preparing for the best day of my life and to receive such horrible news was devastating.’
After the wedding, Mrs Dalton began to deteriorate quickly, and soon the newlywed was put onto dialysis whilst she waited for a donor.
She said: ‘Going on dialysis was very difficult - I was a young woman, newly married, but I had to spend every night hooked up to a machine, it was horrible.
‘While I was on dialysis we’d been given some information about organ donation, and it mentioned living donors - Conor offered himself up straight away.’
Although the waiting time for a deceased donor was three to four years, the wait for a living donor was just six months.
Mr Dalton said: ‘As soon as I realised I could give Sarah my kidney, I volunteered.
‘I didn’t give it a second thought - she’s my wife, and if I was able to help her, then I was going to do it.

Mrs Dalton has reflux nephropathy which means the tubes to her bladder are positioned wrongly - they allow urine to flow back from her bladder to her kidneys

‘They tested Sarah’s closest family members first, as they prefer a genetic match, but her mum wasn’t a match, her younger sister is too young, and her older brother is all the way in Australia.
‘Her Dad was a match, but as I’m younger and fitter, we all decided it would be better for me to go ahead with the donation.’
While Mr Dalton was more than prepared to give his wife his kidney, Mrs Dalton was more worried.
She said: ‘I was reluctant to let him at first.
‘I love my husband very much but I worried about the future and what would happen if we ever split up.
‘I didn’t want to put him through unnecessary surgery either.
‘It took me a while to come to terms with it.’

WHAT IS REFLUX NEPHROPATHY?

Reflux nephropathy is a kidney disease in which urine passes back up from the bladder towards the kidneys instead of leaving the body.
Nearly all cases of the disease result from an abnormality that develops before birth.
The abnormality means one or both of the drainage tubes from the kidneys to the bladder enter the bladder at the wrong angle.
As a result, when the bladder contracts to pass urine outwards, the tubes are not pinched off meaning some urine goes back up towards the kidneys.
The most common symptom of reflux nephropathy is frequent urine infections.
About one in 100 children have some degree of reflux of urine but in nine out of 10 cases it causes no problems and disappears on its own during childhood.
However, in rare cases, the condition can cause kidney damage which can eventually lead to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or transplant.

Mr Dalton, a solicitor, was at work when he received a call from the transplant coordinator to tell him they could do the transplant three days later, in October this year.
He said: ‘I had just been chatting to my boss at work about the transplant when I got the call.
‘I was telling him that the odds of having the operation soon were pretty low - but then I took a call and was told it was going to happen in the next few days.
‘I couldn’t believe it.’
Mrs Dalton added: ‘After we got the call it was all a bit of a blur.
‘We went straight into hospital and Conor had two days worth of tests to make sure he was healthy enough to go ahead.
‘Then the day came for the surgery. He went down three hours before me, which was pretty scary.
‘That’s when the enormity of it all dawned on me really - I was very tearful but I knew he was in good hands.
‘Then I went into the anaesthetist’s room - there was just enough time for them to tell me that Conor’s surgery had gone well and there was a healthy kidney for me, before I was out of it.
‘The next thing I knew, I was wheeled back up to the ward and Conor was waiting for me.’
Three days after the surgery Mr Dalton left hospital, closely followed by his wife just two days later.
The pair are now recovering well at home.
He said: ‘This operation has changed our lives.
‘Before, Sarah was ill all the time, and she was always tired and unwell.
‘Now it’s like she’s got a new lease of life.
‘She’s my wife and I love her very much - to know that she’s healthy now and I’ll have her with me for a long time to come, is just amazing.’
Mrs Dalton said: ‘I can’t begin to describe what an incredible thing Conor has done for me.
‘He’s given me my life back - and my parents think he’s the best son in law ever!’

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