GRAEME GIVES A KIDNEY TO PAL SCOTT
Amazing gift saves sick dad
A man has given his pal the ultimate gift by donating a kidney and saving his life.
Graeme Leask didn’t think twice when friend Scott Renwick became desperately ill and was put on to the kidney transplant list. He put himself forward to become a donor and it was eventually decided he was a match for Scott. The pair have since had their operations and are recovering well at home.
Graeme (34), from Mid Calder, told the Courier he couldn’t stand by and watch his friend suffer.
And Scott, who stays in Livingston, said he doesn’t know how he will ever be able to thank his friend for his ‘new lease of life’.
Both men are now encouraging people to think about becoming
organ donors. graeme said: “We have known each other for 14 or 15 years and i couldn’t sit back and watch a friend going through all this knowing i could have helped but did nothing.
“Everybody has got the right to life and i couldn’t watch somebody i love and care about be unwell and in pain.
“He has a wife and young children, i told him i am doing this so he would be able to walk his daughters down the aisle.
“You can still live with one kidney, i think you should help people if you can and i have never looked back.”
Scott (33), who had been an amateur wrestler until his diagnosis with kidney disease this year, suffered the loss of function in both kidneys and had to undergo daily dialysis treatment from home. He also had to give up his job as a fire and flood restoration technician due to the seriousness of the disease and last month pals organised a wrestling fundraiser to support him.
Scott is now recovering well following the transplant at home with wife shona and daughters skye (5), amber (2) and indie (1).
He said he is “overwhelmed” by what his friend did for him.
“I have no idea what to say to thank him,” said scott. “i had been racking my brains about how to thank him and i started to write him a card that said if i had enough room i would thank him a million times.
“I feel 100 times better already, the kidney started working right away and for the first time in so long i actually feel warm, i had always been freezing.
“This has given me a brand new start and i’m looking forward to the future.”
Both Scott and Graeme said they are keen to encourage more people to sign up to the organ donor register.
Graeme, who works in it at Heineken, said: “I didn’t even know you could become a live organ donor, I thought it had to come from a deceased person.
“It is a big thing to think about and of course there are risks.
“I spoke to my family and my partner Emma and of course they were worried. I am also lucky in that I have a very supportive employer who has told me to take all the time off I need. I would absolutely urge more people to look into how they can be a donor.”