'I was so tired before daughter donated a kidney'
BBCA grandmother has said her life has improved dramatically since her "selfless" daughter donated a kidney 10 years ago.
Janet Matthews, 62, was due to start dialysis as a result of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) before her daughter Jenny Lowe, stepped forward to be a living donor in June 2016.
Matthews, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, said she used to be "so tired" but now goes to the gym and recently went down water slides with her teenage granddaughter on holiday.
Lowe said she had "no regrets whatsoever" about her decision and is helping her mum raise awareness about organ donation.
The 40-year-old said since donating a kidney on 14 June, 2016, she had to drink more water, but it had had no ill effects on her health.
Matthews, a buyer for digger maker JCB in Uttoxeter, said she had been "shocked" to find out she had the inherited condition, which causes multiple cysts to grow and can lead to kidney failure.
She said her son was also found to have the condition and was being monitored, but her daughter was clear.
Matthews said she did not initially want her daughter to donate a kidney, but now felt very grateful.
"What she did was so selfless, and the truth is she has given me a new life," she said.
"I have got to see my granddaughter grow up and my husband Stephen and I have a great life."
Matthews told the BBC her daughter's decision stopped her needing regular dialysis treatments.
"As the time's gone on I feel much better now than I did then, because all I seemed to do was go to work and go to bed because I was so tired," Matthews explained.
"But now I can do what I want when I want really, it's not too bad at all.
"I have started to swim and go to the gym, so it has given me a new lease of life."
Matthews said people can find out about becoming a living organ donor from Royal Stoke Hospital.
NHS Blood and Transplant, which also has information, said about one third of kidney transplants carried out in the UK are from living donors.
More than 1,000 people become living donors for a relative, friend or someone they don't know, with a kidney being the most common organ.
Matthews added people who wanted to donate their organs after the death need to let loved ones know of their "absolute wishes".
"People need to have those conversations," she said.
There are more than 8,000 people, more than ever before, waiting for an organ donation in the UK.
Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
