Joy for families after three-way kidney swap

The three-way swap involved organs being flown between Scotland and England.

Andrea Mullen, from Aberdeen, received a much-needed transplant after her husband Andrew agreed to donate one of his kidneys to a stranger.

Yesterday, Mrs Mullen, 54, said the transplant had given her back her life.

All six people involved agreed to put themselves in a "pool" to find a match because their blood and tissue types were not compatible with their loved ones.

This system allows matched pairs to be found, with donors giving a kidney to someone they do not know and in return their friend or relative receiving one from a matched donor.

In the latest pooled swap, a kidney from Mr Mullen, 53, was flown from Edinburgh to London for transplant into Chris Brent, 42.

Mr Brent's sister Lisa Burton in turn donated a kidney to Teemir Thakrar, whose wife, Lynsey, then donated a kidney to Mr Mullen's wife Andrea.

It is the second time a three-way pooled kidney swap has taken place in the UK.

Mrs Mullen suffered kidney failure three years ago, meaning she had to have dialysis three times a week.

She said:

"I feel better than I have done in years and I feel as though I have been given my life back. "My illness didn't just affect my life, but my husband's and my family's. I am so grateful to everyone for giving me this second chance."

Donor pooling became legal across the UK in 2006, and two-way swaps are becoming more commonplace, with more than 20 completed.

But the three-way swap is much rarer, with just one previous situation in the UK.

The latest swap took place on 4 December, with surgery starting simultaneously at 9am.

The three donated kidneys were packed in ice and transported from Edinburgh to London by plane and between the two London hospitals – Hammersmith, and Guy's and St Thomas' – by blue light ambulance.

All the couples involved yesterday spoke of their joy after the transplants were a success.

Mr Thakrar, 32, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, said it felt "great" to come off dialysis after receiving a kidney from Ms Burton, 45, of Hastings, East Sussex.

"I feel fantastic after the kidney transplant, it is great that it has finally happened for me," Mr Thakrar said.

"It is absolutely amazing to meet the person who donated a kidney to me and I am just so happy that three people are off dialysis and leading a normal life."

Speaking about her brother's condition, Ms Burton said: "I just felt I really had to do something to help him."

Mr Brent said the operation meant he could now "live life" rather than just "existing".

Vicki Chapman, of the Human Tissue Authority, said that over the past three years it had authorised 22 swaps involving two couples. She said two three-way swaps had now taken place.

"The vast majority of living transplants are just between people who are emotionally or genetically related, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters," she said.

"Generally, it is fine for the operation to go ahead, but sometimes there is not a match and this offers an opportunity in those cases."

Lorna Marson, the consultant transplant surgeon who carried out the operation at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said: "Andrea and Andrew have made a great recovery and we are so pleased for them both."

She added: "Andrea had to undergo a lot of preparation before the transplant, so without this three-way operation, which was planned in advance, it would have been unlikely that she would have been offered a kidney from the deceased donor list."