Bury St Edmunds woman who gave her twin a kidney encourages others to donate organs
Nemonee Stone donated a kidney to her sister
A 55-year-old woman from Suffolk said she is ‘overwhelmed' after seeing the difference in her sister before and after getting a kidney transplant.
After working in the NHS, Nemonee Stone, from Bury St Edmunds, registered to become an organ donor in 2003.
She told us it was always something she had wanted to do: "I like the idea of someone benefiting after I've gone. The idea of donating my organs to save someone's life or several lives is a good thing."
But in 2020 Nemonee's twin sister, Monienne, was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease, at 51 years old, despite not having any health issues prior.
Nemonee told us that her sister had been feeling tired and run down which is what prompted her to go to the hospital: "Eventually some blood tests picked up that firstly she had anaemia and then they picked up that she was slowly declining with kidney disease over several years, which was unbeknown to her...
"It was quite stressful and upsetting, you just feel helpless because there's nothing you can do."
Nemonee explained that Monienne had to go on dialysis daily knowing she would need a transplant, ideally from a live donor as it would have a higher chance of success.
Nemonee told us that up until this point, she didn't realise live donations were possible: "I didn't know you could donate a kidney or you can donate part of your liver as well to someone as a live donor, so that's when I became aware of it.
"I immediately offered to donate."
Despite her sister's concerns, this was what Nemonee wanted to do: "I was determined to do it because she didn't have a lot of time and I would have been the best match being twins...
"I thought it was quite important because we don't know how long she'd be on the donor list, and it was it was quite important that she needed a new kidney as soon as possible."
But because Monienne had declined at such a rapid rate, they had to do genetic testing on Nemonee to make sure she wouldn't have the same issue.
It was 2 years before the operation took place and with Covid-19 prevalent at the time, the pair had to take extra precautions leading up to the event.
In October 2022, the transplant went ahead.
They were kept in separate rooms due to Monienne needing dialysis but when Nemonee felt able, she walked to her sister across the ward to see how she was doing.
Nemonee told us the first thing she said was how thankful and grateful she was to her sister, quickly followed by the need for chips: "One of the first things she said was'guess who's able to have some chips' - that was the main thing because she had so many foods that she couldn't eat with potassium...
"So one of the first things that was when the mind was getting to eating chips."
Since the operation they've both recovered well and are continuing with their lives: "Seeing the impact compared to how she was before is overwhelming and it's quite amazing really. I am so glad I've done that."
Nemonee said she was grateful for the care she received at Addenbrookes and Queen Elizabeth Birmingham Hospital and she has even raised money for the National Kidney Federation.
She is also hoping to encourage more people to donate organs: "Don't be scared of organ donation. It's such a wonderful thing to do. It's an amazing thing to do, you're saving a life."
Not only this but she is hoping her story will help inspire conversations within the Caribbean community: "I'm hoping this will raise awareness, especially in the Caribbean Community, to dispel those myths of organ donation and also just to give hope and inspiration to those who are affected by kidney failure and other conditions as well, and that there's hope out there."