Darren Reay underwent open heart surgery at the Freeman Hospital and was left with severe kidney failure
Kristy Dawson Multi-Media Journalist
19:32, 13 Mar 2026
Darren Reay has stage five kidney failure and needs a transplant (Image: Chronicle Live )
A dad who was left with severe kidney failure after undergoing open heart surgery is desperate for a transplant. Darren Reay, from the Bensham area of Gateshead, sustained a tear to the aorta while suffering from high blood pressure and had to have an operation to repair it.
Following the surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, the 35-year-old’s organs began to shut down and he had to be placed in a coma for 10 days. He was left with kidney failure and has to have dialysis five times a week to keep him alive.
Darren, who has four children and a fifth on the way, is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. He is currently on the NHS waiting list.
He told Chronicle Live: “My liver and lungs repaired themselves but my kidneys took a massive hit during the operation. I have now got stage five kidney failure – it’s end of life kidney failure.
“I will be on dialysis up until I get a transplant. The dialysis is the only thing keeping me alive. I have been on dialysis for about four-and-a-half years.
“Everyday is a struggle to wake up but I have got a fight regardless because I have got kids and a partner. I have got a beautiful little baby on the way. If I had a kidney my life would be perfect.
“I have only just recently been put on the transplant list around two months ago. I had one of the most severe heart surgery you can go through, apart from a heart transplant. They had to do extra tests to make sure my heart is strong enough to go through a transplant operation and it finally is.”
Darren Reay and his partner Lauren Hodgson(Image: Chronicle Live )
Darren recently moved to Seaham, County Durham, with his partner Lauren Hodgson, 27, and their two children Ella, seven, and Noah, five. They have just discovered Lauren is expecting their third child together.
He fell ill with aortic dissection – a life-threatening emergency where the inner layer or the aorta tears – in 2021 after having high blood pressure for at least 10 years. He got rushed into the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, where he had a cardiac arrest, and was blue lighted to the Freeman Hospital.
Darren then underwent seven-hour operation to repair his aorta. The former warehouse worker said: “I had to video call my family and tell them how serious it was. There was a 30% chance of death.
Darren has to have kidney dialysis five times a week(Image: Chronicle Live)
“It didn’t hit me until the surgeon came in and said ‘Darren we are ready to go down now.’ They asked ‘Is there anything you want me to tell your family?’ I said ‘Just tell them all I love them’. I said ‘Please don’t let me die’.
“I was out of surgery for about two days when my organs shut down. I had to be induced into a coma for 10 days because without it I wouldn’t have made it. Thankfully I’m still here.”
Darren, who also has two children from a previous relationship, spent a total of 16 days in hospital. He now has to have kidney dialysis five times a week, from Tuesday through until Saturday.
Since being on dialysis, he suffers from severe restless legs, a build up of fluid in his stomach and is unable to sleep. He said he has gone from being active to not being able to do anything.
Darren is struggling due to kidney failure (Image: Chronicle Live )
Darren said: “It’s horrible, it’s destroyed my life. I wake up every morning being sick and I don’t eat. I’m sick probably five, six or seven times a day. I have been on four to six protein drinks for quite a while.
“It’s affected my kids as they’re not really seeing their dad.”
The dad-of-four, who recently had a breakdown due to stress, now has to wait and hope that he will receive a kidney transplant. He said: “It’s just pot luck. I’m just preparing myself for the worst.
“It’s changed who I am as a person completely. I feel like a shadow of a man compared to who I was before all this. I find it really tough everyday.
“I have always been fit and healthy. This hasn’t stemmed from me abusing my body. It’s come from something natural that is out of my control.
“We’re a strong little family. We have been through it for five years and we will go through it for another five years if we have to.”
Lauren was looking into the possibility of her donating a kidney to Darren before she discovered she was expecting. She added: “It’s absolutely awful. I wish I could just take it away for him.”
She has posted on social media to ask if anybody would consider being tested as a living kidney donor for Darren as it would “change his life”.
Lauren has also created a Go Fund Me page to raise awareness of Darren’s condition. Any funds donated will be used for a family break away.
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