Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UNIQUE DONOR
Azeem Ahmad is a man who just keeps on giving. In fact, he has quite literally given away more of himself than anyone else alive.
He donated stem cells to a cancer sufferer a decade ago, then became a blood donor. And last year, Azeem completed a unique hat-trick by donating a kidney.
That makes him the only person known to have donated an organ, stem cells, and blood. In doing so, he may have saved more than 30 lives.
Azeem, 34, has never met any of the people he has helped. He doesn’t even know their names. But a single anonymous letter of thanks and the satisfaction of helping is more than enough reward for him.
He said: “It is an amazing feeling, knowing you have made such a difference. I would like to meet them one day, but even if I never do, I know I have done something very special.
“I received a letter from the person who received my kidney a few weeks after. It was wonderful. I could actually feel the gratitude as I read their words.”
A new opt-out organ donor register came into effect this week – Max and Keira’s Law – following a successful Mirror campaign.
All adults in England are now assumed to consent to donating after they die, unless they opt out.
And Azeem knows what a game-changer this could be.
The facilities manger had offered to give his kidney to Anaya Kandola, three, who was running out of time due to a shortage of Asian donors.
The youngster, from Azeem’s home city Newcastle, had her enlarged kidneys removed when she was just weeks old and was on dialysis.
As Anaya’s condition worsened, she could not walk and was often sick. Her only hope was a transplant, but mum Joety and dad Amrik were not a match.
Her chances were slim as just 3% of registered donors are Asian and people of the same ethnicity are more likely to be a match.
Currently, 17% of people on the waiting list are Asian.
In desperation, Anaya’s family launched an online hunt for a donor. They even got support from former Everton and Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall, who lent them his Twitter account to spread the word in January 2019. That brought her plight to Azeem’s attention.
“I knew she was less likely to find a matching donor” he said. “It seemed so unfair she could be denied the chance of a happy life.
“I’ve got a nephew who has just turned six. If he were in the same position, we would be doing everything we could to find someone who could help him.”
Azeem was not alone in being