A WOMAN has transformed a complete stranger's life by donating one of her kidneys.
Lesley Turner, 49 does not know who has her right kidney, only that the recipient had been on dialysis for eight years.
Giving away a kidney to a stranger is very rare and is known medically as an "altruistic donation".
Lesley's operation was the first of its kind carried out by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The surgeon who carried out the two-hour operation, Shantanu Bhattacharjya, said: "Lesley has done a great deed by becoming our hospital's first altruistic donor. It was an honour to be a part of that. I think she is a remarkable woman."
Lesley, who has been married for 25 years, said she did not donate her organ for recognition but because she wanted to give someone else the opportunity to live life to the full.
She said: "I know what it is like to be around people who are really ill. And I know how much of a difference getting a new organ can make, as my mother-in-law had a heart transplant 14 years ago. She has gone on to see her grand-kids being born and love life.
"But I don't want people to get the wrong impression. Donating an organ doesn't make you a better person or a different person. You are still the same person with good and bad qualities; you just happen to have one less kidney.
"I just wanted someone who was really suffering to be afforded the same opportunity as my mother-in-law had – to have their life back. Anyone can donate at any age and I was surprised to learn that I was the first one Nottingham's hospitals had carried out."
Barry Evans, 34, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, received a kidney earlier this year from an altruistic donor who lived outside Notts. He said: "Words can't describe how amazing I think people like Lesley are. My donor saved my life, and now I'm starting a family."
Lesley, who is from the Nottingham area, donated her kidney on October 31 at the City Hospital.
