Geraint John, 66, remembers the day he received the news that would change his life.
Both his kidneys had failed and, to continue living, he would need either a lifetime of dialysis, or a transplant.
Geraint, who was then 47, started feeling unwell in December, 2002, but said that for the sake of the Christmas holidays, he pushed through his symptoms.
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“I felt very unwell, and I had some strange symptoms, which I and then my doctor who saw me after Christmas, attributed to a bladder infection. So, when the antibiotics didn’t work, I went back, and I asked to go to hospital.”
Geraint, from Neath, was rushed to Baglan Hospital where, after a range of tests, he was told both his kidneys had shut down, and he was blue lighted to Morriston Hospital’s renal unit.
“When they got a motorcycle carrier to send my blood tests to Cardiff, I knew it was serious then. I had an illness called vasculitis which caused my veins to swell which in turn stopped the blood supply to my kidneys. A doctor just put his hands on mine and said it quite plainly, my kidneys had failed and there was nothing they could do to save them.
“The whole thing was a whirlwind, everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, I was started on dialysis and that would be the case for me for the next nine months.”
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Over that time, Geraint was stabilised through dialysis and, in August, he was placed on the transplant list.
“I was incredibly lucky, I waited less than a month before a kidney came through. My brother was being tested to see if he was a match, but this donation meant that he didn’t have to.
On September 29, 2003 Geraint’s kidney transplantation was successful and since then he said he had felt incredibly lucky to have been given a new lease of life.
“There are no words to describe it, a stranger’s death has given me nearly two more decades of life and I don’t think I’ll ever get over that. I have two sons who were 16 and 18 at the time of my transplant and because of this stranger I’ve been able to watch them become fathers, and my wife Val and I become grandparents- that's something I’ll never take for granted.”
Since his transplant, Geraint has been actively involved in fundraising, and is now an ambassador for the Paul Popham Fund, a charity supporting renal transplant patients across South Wales.
Geraint added: “It’s cliché but I’m giving something back, I was very lucky to be supported by my family and friends through my dialysis and transplant, but some of these patients don't have that support network.
“I know what some of these patients are going through, I’ve been there, so if I can help people come to terms with something so life changing, then I’m doing my bit.”
Geraint is now an avid walker and walking is his fundraiser of choice.
His next venture is the virtual London marathon, which he will be walking for the Paul Popham Fund.
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