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<\/p>\nDarren Reay underwent open heart surgery at the Freeman Hospital and was left with severe kidney failure<\/p>\n
Kristy Dawson Multi-Media Journalist<\/p>\n
19:32, 13 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
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Darren Reay has stage five kidney failure and needs a transplant (Image: Chronicle Live )<\/p>\n
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<\/a>, sustained a tear to the aorta while suffering from high blood pressure and had to have an operation to repair it.<\/p>\n Following the surgery at the Freeman Hospital<\/a> in Newcastle<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> waiting list.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Darren Reay and his partner Lauren Hodgson(Image: Chronicle Live )<\/p>\n Darren recently moved to Seaham<\/a>, County Durham<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in Gateshead, where he had a cardiac arrest, and was blue lighted to the Freeman Hospital.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Darren has to have kidney dialysis five times a week(Image: Chronicle Live)<\/p>\n “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’.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Darren is struggling due to kidney failure (Image: Chronicle Live )<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “It’s affected my kids as they’re not really seeing their dad.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n 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”.<\/p>\n Lauren has also created a Go Fund Me page<\/a> to raise awareness of Darren’s condition. Any funds donated will be used for a family break away.<\/p>\n![\"Darren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-13-at-104649jpeg.jpg\")
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