‘Don’t take your kidneys for granted’: Woman's plea after living donor transplant saved her life

A woman from Paisley is urging people to take care of their kidneys after she had to receive a transplant from a living donor.

Lois Denham, 51, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at age seven – a genetic disorder which can prove fatal if left unmanaged.

She went to the clinic regularly for check-ups and testing – but after an experience with a nurse 30 years ago, that changed.

Lois told STV News: “In my mid-20s, after I got married, I fell off the radar a little bit and got comfortable. I’d gained some weight.

“At one point, I went to the renal clinic for a routine check up, and the nurse who weighed me said ‘if you keep putting on weight, your kidneys aren’t going to last you.’

“And it broke my heart – rather than taking it as a warning, it stopped me going to the clinic for quite a few years.”

She did start going back eventually – and in 2020, Lois was admitted to hospital after her kidney function dropped to 10%.

Lois following her kidney transplant in 2023 STV News

Her condition had deteriorated gradually so she didn’t realise it was getting progressively worse until it was too late for dialysis.

Fortunately, a friend from Lois’ church stepped up – Josh Hall donated one of his kidneys to save her life in 2023.

Josh said: “It was torture, seeing the disappointment and the uncertainty you [Lois] were going through.

“I couldn’t bear the thought that a dear friend was suffering, and I could end that suffering. Knowing that you’ve had such an impact on someone’s life, changing somebody’s life and in effect saved their life – you can’t beat that.”

Their relationship is now stronger than ever – and Lois couldn’t be more grateful to Josh.

She said: “My key word throughout this process has been gratitude for what he’s done. And why he would do it. I’ll never really understand why.”

Data released by the kidney patient support charity Kidney Care UK suggests an “alarming” lack of knowledge of the main signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

It revealed that one in four (29%) of Scots are unable to identify the seven main signs of a loss of kidney function – in comparison to a UK average of 27%.

These are cramps, itchy skin, dietary changes (food tasting different from how it normally does), nausea and/or vomiting, exhaustion, changes to urine, and swelling of ankles/legs or face.

Fiona Loud, director of policy at Kidney Care UK, said: “Delay in the diagnosis of moderate to advanced CKD by just one-year results in a 63% higher likelihood of kidney failure requiring costly and burdensome treatment to stay alive, such as dialysis or a transplant.

Friends Josh and Lois met through church STV News

“This also has a significant effect on people’s mental health and on their ability to work.

“Whether people are identified early or late, there will always be a cost to the NHS; but by identifying people sooner more can be done to prolong their kidney health, improve their quality of life and reduce the impact on health and other services.”

The charity is urging people to take their five-minute online Kidney Health Checker, to understand their level of risk.

Lois said: “I didn’t know I was at such risk, or how kidney disease could develop itself, what the repercussions would be not just to me health wise but on my family, on my ability to just do everyday things.

“Like the campaign says, your kidneys are amazing – but you could be losing kidney function without even knowing.” 

CKD currently affects one in ten people – equal to more than seven million people in the UK – but one million of those are not even aware they have CKD.

Kidney Care UK said CKD is predicted to be the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2040, unless urgent preventative action is taken to improve diagnosis and treatment rates.

Laurie Cuthbert, director of fundraising, marketing and communications at Kidney Care UK, added: “We are concerned that a lack of symptom awareness amongst the general public in Scotland, combined with a fear of not wanting to burden their GP, means that some are at risk of losing as much as 90% of their kidney function without realising¹⁰ or taking simple steps to look after their kidney health.

“We hope that our #BloodyAmazingKidneys campaign will help raise awareness of the Bloody Amazing role they play.

“By empowering individuals to take control of their kidney health, we want to ensure that more people are diagnosed sooner and ultimately never reach kidney failure.”