MARK Trimby became a dad 23 years ago, proud of his lovely baby daughter. But now she is the one giving him the gift of life.
As he looks at his daughter Carly, the gratitude and affection Mark Trimby has for his offspring is clear to see. He’s especially proud, because at 23 Miss Trimby has become the youngest living donor in the country. The operation was all the more special because it was the first transplant in the South West where the donor and recipient had different blood groups.
In the past it was not possible to transplant organs between people who were not a match because antibodies in the recipients’ blood would fight the new organ. But the 47-year-old father had treatments before the transplant to cleanse his blood of the antibodies so that he didn’t reject his daughter’s kidney. The former manufacturing engineer, of Bradley Stoke, was diagnosed with kidney failure three years ago, having been warned the organs were not functioning fully several years before and regularly attended hospital for check-ups.
He suffered from exhaustion, a lack of sleep and loss of appetite and was put on the transplant waiting list. His wife Michelle, 45, had offered to donate a kidney but was diagnosed with kidney stones and after treatment was not able to give the organ for a couple of weeks. The family had heard about incompatible blood group transplants about five years ago, but at the time, the procedure was only being offered in London.
Miss Trimby, who has a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Ruby, put herself forward as a possible donor without telling her dad.
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