Brave organ donor saved mylife.Now MPs must save others..
Just 3 days left to change law with vote
ANDY Cole has urged MPs to vote for an opt-out organ donor system this Friday.
The soccer legend, saved by a kidney transplant, told them: “You can stop a lot of suffering.”
ANDY Cole knows first-hand the anxiety of waiting for a new organ while battling sickness – and the life-long gratitude owed to donors.
The Manchester United legend’s life was saved by the selfless sacrifice of his nephew Alexander Palmer, who gave him a kidney after his own was left badly damaged by a rare condition.
And 46-year-old Andy today joins the Mirror’s campaign to change the law to an opt-out system where all citizens are potential organ donors unless they specifically say otherwise.
The striker was struck down by a mystery virus after returning from Vietnam in 2015. He struggled on dialysis for two years before Alexander, 29, was found to be a perfect match for a kidney.
Speaking for the first time about his brush with death and our bid to change the law, Andy wiped away a tear as he said: “I am 100% behind the campaign.
“Maybe if you came to me five years ago, I would have said something totally different. But for me the past two years has changed so much. This illness knocked me off my feet.”
Andy realises he was fortunate to have a live donor, when many have to wait for someone on the register to die first.
He said: “I found it really difficult to cope, after being as fit as I was. There is no hell like it. My family all rallied round to offer to be donors and that meant I had a donor quickly.
“Alexander said to me, ‘Uncle I will do it. I cannot see you in this pain any more.’ I knew it would not be easy.
“He was 27 at the time, young, fit, the perfect match. But it was still a dilemma. I was thinking, ‘What if it does not work, I have put him through all this pain, and he has risked all this for me?’ Thankfully he made a full recovery. But I know that others are not so lucky, and wait years for a donor. Alex’s noble act saved me. I will be indebted to him for the rest of my life.”
Last week we revealed 4,712 people have died in the past decade while waiting for an organ.
We are asking readers to urge their MPs to vote for the opt-out system in
Friday’s crucial poll. Andy also paid tribute to the parents of Keira Ball, the nine-year-old whose organs saved four lives after she died in a road accident last August. Her heart was given to Max Johnson, 10, who had pleaded with Theresa May to change the law as he waited for a new organ.
Max became the face of the Mirror’s campaign and the PM promised to call it Max’s Law if it is changed.
Keira’s parents Joe and Loanna’s selfless sacrifice featured in the Mirror yesterday. Andy said: “It is amazing, to do that for someone is just phenomenal.
“I was speaking with my nephew and he said exactly the same as they did… if you can save a life, why not do it?”
After a glorious career with United, Newcastle and England, the Premier League’s third all-time top scorer fell ill at the age of 43 with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, which attacks the kidney’s blood-cleansing filters. One of the symptoms is weight gain due to retained fluid in the body.
He appeared looking bloated on BBC’s Football Focus in February 2016.
Andy said: “I had always looked after myself after I stopped playing.
“So I thought something was wrong. I had kept in touch with Mike Stone, the Man United doctor. He came to see me straight away. Mike sent me to see a specialist. If I had waited another week, I might not be having this conversation.”
Andy admits he was in denial for months about his illness. He added: “I went through the process of trying to convince myself I was not ill.
“I had six or seven months in denial but by the second year, my kidney function went down to 7%. The consultant said, ‘You cannot keep going like this.’ My days had become consumed by sleeping.”
Andy finally had his kidney transplant last April. He added: “When we went in for the operation, we were in one room, Alex was a few steps away.
“I remember thinking about what he was doing for me.
“I had been on dialysis and it was horrible, you are in for hours, you come out you are so tired afterwards and I had to do it every other day.
“I was adamant I could get through it. But I faced a constant struggle. Even when I came out after the transplant, I felt guilty seeing Alexander struggling.” But his nephew is now fully recovered and “buzzing” to see his uncle well again. Andy paid tribute to wife Shirley, who forced him to seek medical attention, and his children Devante, 22, and 16-year-old Faith. And he urged MPs to vote for change on Friday. The Nottingham-born star added: “I would say to MPs, ‘I have been through this. You can stop a lot of suffering.’ “Transplant is a life-changing experience. Organ donation transforms lives. It is torture for you, torment for you as an individual in need. “Imagine being the parent of a six or seven-year-old who needs a transplant and there is no match. I understand now what that means.” Manchester United ambassador Andy will be at a Mirror parliamentary reception for MPs with Alexander on the eve of Friday’s crucial vote. He will also work at the British Transplant Games in Birmingham this year. Andy said: “If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.” Anyone touched by Andy’s story can donate to help others at kidneysforlife.org/