A pensioner has become the oldest person in Britain to donate a kidney to a relative after giving his organ to save his critically ill son-in-law.
Graham Sisson decided to donate his kidney at the age of 84 to Ian Tonks, 49, who suffered from kidney failure, to “help him get his life back”.
Tonks had been suffering with kidney problems since 2006 and had an initial transplant 12 years ago but started having further problems in 2018.
He had the second transplant surgery, in which Sisson donated his left kidney, with Manchester Royal Infirmary’s living donor transplant team in October 2024.
Tonks and Sisson before the operationSWNS
Sisson, a retired accountancy consultant, who is now 86, said: “I’m thrilled to bits to see Ian’s life change, but others seem to think it is a bigger thing than I do. I could see how incredibly ill he was and I wanted to help him get his life back.”
When Tonks’s kidneys started rapidly declining in 2018 because of an autoimmune disease, he was put on dialysis, a procedure to remove waste products from the blood when the kidneys function poorly, but suffered from infections and sepsis because of the treatment.
Tonks, a former materials controller, was placed on the transplant list in 2019. After several failed attempts to find a donor, Sisson decided to put himself forward.
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His son-in-law said: “I was shell-shocked by Graham’s decision. Total disbelief. He was so confident about wanting to do it. There is truly no gift in the world that matches what he did. To this day, my voice cracks whenever I talk about it, knowing how brave he has been for no other reason than to help me. It’s unbelievable — the kindest thing a person has ever done for me.”
The pair after recoverySWNS
They initially assumed Sisson would be too old to donate but organ donation can be made by people of different ages, genders and races, according to the NHS.
While kidney donors have to be at least 18 years old, there is no upper age limit as suitability is based on physical and kidney health rather than age.
Potential donors undergo various checks to determine their suitability, including blood and antibody tests, specialist checks on the heart and lungs, a psychological evaluation and an assessment by the Human Tissue Authority.
Sisson said: “Many family members put themselves forward but couldn’t donate for various reasons, so I put myself forward and the tests showed I was compatible. To make sure it was safe for both of us, I then had 11 months of tests. By this point he was so ill that if the operation had been delayed, he may well have run out of time.”
After the transplant surgery on October 23, 2024, at Manchester Royal Infirmary they stayed in hospital for several days and both have recovered well.
Specialists at the NHS said Sissons was the oldest person to give a kidney in a “direct donation”, which is when a person donates an organ to a person with whom they have a genetic or pre-existing emotional relationship, according to the Human Tissue Authority.
Sisson received an award from NHS Blood and Transplant as a Kidney for Life hero and said he wears the badge with pride.
Tonks added: “Without Graham, I would have died within a matter of months. Without his unbelievable selflessness, I’d be gone. To be that age and do what he has done is incredible.”