Oliver Thomas

“Celebrating 50 years with my transplanted kidney” In 1970, at just 10 years old, Mike started to experience signs of kidney disease and was shortly diagnosed after ending up in hospital. “In my last year of junior school, I started to have symptoms like discoloured urine, back pain, rashes, and swollen ankles. I was in and out of hospital for several months while doctors tried to identify what was wrong. "In 1971, I began to have problems breathing and was in bad shape. I was stabilised in hospital and told I needed dialysis because my kidneys had failed, due to a type of kidney disease called glomerulonephritis. It was shocking for me and my family, and hard to get our heads around.” Now, aged 63, he celebrated his 50th kidneyversary at the same hospital he received his kidney transplant in 1974. “It was a fantastic afternoon, although a bit emotional to reflect on how the transplant has positively changed the course of my life over all these years. When I first received the kidney, having it function for 20 years would have been a complete dream, even five years would have been good! “It’s a surreal feeling to have reached 50 years. The transplant has allowed me to get married, have children, a grandchild, and live a perfectly normal life. I’ve travelled, lived abroad, studied, and had a super career with a large global IT company.” Find out more about Mike’s story here: bit.ly/3yMDXYf