Cambridge mum says son, 5, living 'fuller life' thanks to kidney donation
She helped save her son's life by donating one of her kidneys
Last updated 8th May 2024
A Cambridge mum has said donating a kidney to help save her five-year-old son has given him a new lease of life.
Sara Turkentine donated her kidney to her son, Joseph, in June 2022 after he was diagnosed with a kidney disorder called nephrotic syndrome.
Her story comes as research from two national charities shows that just over one in ten in our region would consider becoming a living kidney donor to somebody they didn't know.
Sara believes what she's done has made an impact on Joseph:
"We know that he still has to do things differently to his friends, for example he's on lots of anti-projection medication, so there's definitely changes to how he's treated versus his peers, but he's able to live a lot fuller life than if he was on dialysis," he said.
"While on dialysis, he had to have that for 11 hours every night and became this running joke we're plugging him at night time and putting him on charge, but it's clearly not on charge.
"It's that way we're explaining to a then three-year-old child what's going on."
What does stats for the East of England show?
• Almost two in three people in the East of England (62%) would consider becoming a living kidney donor to a family member, with a third (34%) saying they would consider the same for a friend.
• Just over one in ten people in the East of England (13%) would consider becoming a living kidney donor to someone they didn’t know.
• 82% in the region believe they can change someone’s life even they’ve never met them.
"Donating a kidney can give someone their life back"
Joseph's dad Matt was ruled out as a possible donor by doctors, but Sara was confirmed as a match.
She has this advice for people who are considering to be a kidney donor:
"I'd say have a chat with transplant co-ordinators because they are there for you; having a conversation doesn't mean you're committing to anything," she added.
"They can answer any questions you have, any concerns they can address but can also say if this is right for you.
"My kidney's functioning perfectly normal and there's been no changes, but I don't think people really understand that donating a kidney to somebody can save somebody's life and give them their life back."
"It affects 1 in 10 people"
Fiona Loud works for Kidney Care UK:
"I don't know if I'd be here today without this donation. But what I do know is that having received a Kidney donation in the Christmas of 2006 by my partner, it's allowed me to go on and have a full life, which I maybe wouldn't have had before.
"It affects 1 in 10 people but not everyone knows about it. In many case it doesn't go anywhere but there are around 3 million with moderate to advanced stages of kidney disease in the UK.
"If you have indications of high-blood pressure, you should be asking you GP to check your kidney function.
"If you have diabetes your GP should be checking this function as well. But often the signs can be quite generic at first. For example, you might just feel tired."
The research comes from charities Kidney Research UK and Give a Kidney