Karen Davey, a 41‑year‑old mother of four from Brynna, Rhondda Cynon Taf, received a lifesaving kidney transplant after a stranger responded to her Facebook plea. Davey had exhausted every possible avenue before turning to social media, saying she did not want to leave her household without a mother.
Gary Summerfield, a 60‑year‑old security guard from Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, saw Davey’s post and learned he was a compatible donor. He donated one of his kidneys in a six‑hour procedure on 15 July at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
“I thought this woman needs 1 of my kidneys much more than I request 2 of them,” said Gary.
Davey’s family said they could never repay his generosity, noting the transplant gave her “another chance to be a mum.”
Davey reported feeling “100 times better” following the July transplant.
She reflected on her medical history, stating, “I knew the tablets I was taking pursuing the heart transplant would harm the kidneys truthfully they effort and support the dose as debased as possible, but we ever knew erstwhile I had the heart transplant that I would almost apt request a kidney transplant at immoderate point, and that is hard to woody with mentally.”
Davey added, “My main happening is the kids, I privation to be astir for them.”
She noted, “The kids were 10 years younger erstwhile I had the heart transplant, and they've been done a batch since past and the kidney was conscionable the adjacent hurdle.”
Gary explained his motivation: “I saw Karen's entreaty and she mentioned the children, and I thought 'Karen's a akin property to my girl and her youngest kid is the aforesaid property as my grandson', and I conscionable thought it's unspeakable for the children.”
He continued, “If It was my daughter, I would be searching everyplace if we had exhausted each avenues done the household and friends, I would privation a alien to travel forward. And I thought it would be selfish not to.”
Gary reiterated, “I thought this woman needs 1 of my kidneys much more than I request 2 of them.”
He said, “It's astonishing seeing Karen today, the first time since the transplant and looking so well.”
Gary described the donation as “simply up determination with getting joined and having my children, it's 1 of the apical 3 things successful my life.”
He added, “And she's a precise deserving woman and a deserving family.”
Davey’s husband Matthew observed, “Everyone knows what's going on successful the satellite at the moment, it's a horrible spot at times, but it truly does springiness you anticipation that determination is kindness successful the world.”
He said, “We'll never, ever be capable to repay Gary and the household for what they've done, and to springiness Karen different chance, different accidental of being capable to be the parent to our children and conscionable unrecorded a beingness that she deserves.”
Matthew concluded, “He has fixed that acquisition of life.”
Davey remarked, “The information that idiosyncratic came guardant and has gone done each the testing, due to the fact that it's a batch of testing. For idiosyncratic to enactment their assemblage done that and having a kidney taken retired for idiosyncratic that they don't know, it's mind-blowing, I'm conscionable truthfully grateful.”
Their son Brandon, 17, said, “She's looked amended present than she has successful a agelong while.”
He added, “It tin be scary, obviously, erstwhile she's going into surgeries, but you conscionable person to person hope. It's conscionable astonishing there's inactive bully radical retired there.”
According to NHS Blood and Transplant, the average wait for a deceased donor kidney transplant in the UK is two to three years, whereas a living donor can reduce the timeframe to three to six months.
Sincity Press Staff
1 hour ago 4 min read
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English (US)·