{"id":497731,"date":"2026-03-27T05:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497731\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T05:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:40:17","slug":"pensioner-84-becomes-britains-oldest-donor-and-saves-his-son-in-laws-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497731\/","title":{"rendered":"Pensioner, 84, becomes Britain’s oldest donor – and saves his son-in-law’s life"},"content":{"rendered":"

An 84-year-old pensioner has become Britain’s oldest donor after giving a kidney to his son-in-law – and saving his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Graham Sisson, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, donated the organ to Ian Tonks, 49, of nearby Buxton, in October 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Tonks had suffered with kidney problems since 2006 but began ‘declining rapidly’ in 2018, which saw him embark on the gruelling process of dialysis treatment.<\/p>\n

The ex-materials controller was put on the transplant list a year later – but several attempts to find a donor had been sadly unsuccessful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He began to suffer infections and even sepsis<\/a> caused by dialysis, an intensive procedure which removes waste from the blood if the kidneys are not working.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Doctors struggled for years to find viable ways for him to continue the treatment, which sees patients hooked up to a machine for hours several times a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the brink of kidney failure, Mr Tonks was tragically given only a few months to live – when his father-in-law bravely agreed to step in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Specialists have said he is the oldest person to give a kidney in a so-called ‘direct donation’ – and Mr Sisson has now spoken out about the incredible accolade.<\/p>\n

\"Graham <\/p>\n

Graham Sisson (right), from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, donated the organ to Ian Tonks (left), 49, of nearby Buxton, in October 2024<\/p>\n

\"Mr <\/p>\n

Mr Tonks (pictured) had suffered with kidney problems since 2006 but began ‘declining rapidly’ in 2018, which saw him embark on the gruelling process of dialysis treatment<\/p>\n

\"On <\/p>\n

On the brink of kidney failure, the ex-materials controller (left) was tragically given only a few months to live – when his father-in-law (right) bravely agreed to step in<\/p>\n

The retired accountancy consultant, 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.<\/p>\n

‘I could see how incredibly ill he was and I wanted to help him get his life back.\u00a0His whole life revolved around dialysis.’<\/p>\n

A ‘direct donation’ is when a person donates an organ to someone they have a genetic or pre-existing emotional relationship with, according to The Human Tissue Authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Sisson volunteered to help his critically ill son-in-law in summer 2023, offering up his left kidney.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pair then underwent the transplant surgery with the living donor transplant team at Manchester Royal Infirmary on October 23, 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He explained: ‘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.<\/p>\n

‘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.<\/p>\n

‘I did get an award from NHS Blood and Transplant as a Kidney for Life Hero and have a badge, which I wear with pride.<\/p>\n

‘Recovery was quick for me and I have carried on as normal. We’ve been to the cricket together and have gone to watch Derby County. I’m just glad it worked.’<\/p>\n

Mr Tonks, who is originally from Birmingham, said: ‘Without Graham, I would have died within a matter of months – without his unbelievable selflessness, I’d be gone.<\/p>\n

‘To be that age and do what he has done is incredible.’<\/p>\n

Doctors first realised he was suffering from kidney problems in 2006, when he collapsed unexpectedly at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, Mr Tonks has already previously received another kidney transplant, in 2014 – but six years later, he began having problems, which saw him go on dialysis.<\/p>\n

He said: ‘It puts a complete stop to your life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It requires a strict routine for spending time on the dialysis machine, meaning I could no longer work and my hobbies stopped.<\/p>\n

‘I have a classic car I like to work on and go for weekend drives with my partner, I’m a big Birmingham City fan and I enjoyed my work – but all of that ended because of my condition.<\/p>\n

\"Mr <\/p>\n

Mr Sisson (right, with Mr Tonks, left), now 86, has now spoken out about the incredible process:\u00a0‘I could see how incredibly ill he was and I wanted to help him get his life back’<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The pair (pictured together) have both since fully recovered – and Mr Tonks has said his father-in-law’s ‘selfless act’ has completely transformed his life<\/p>\n

‘I was placed on the transplant list, but you can face quite a wait because of the demand for organs.’<\/p>\n

One of his friends had previously volunteered as a donor and underwent all the stages of testing it requires.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it was discovered he had a previously unknown heart problem, meaning he was sadly no longer able to help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Tonks’s wife and Mr Sisson’s stepdaughter, Helen, 55, have also both previously tried to give their organs, ahead of his first transplant in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But as she had previously been diagnosed with cancer, it meant she unfortunately was not compatible for donation either.<\/p>\n

‘Lots of people said they would be open to donating, but it’s daunting and they would understandably back out,’\u00a0Mr Tonks explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Helen was the first person, outside of Pete, who properly meant it.<\/p>\n

‘Helen’s sister also tried to donate, but our blood types didn’t match – that was when I got a call from Graham one Sunday night.’<\/p>\n

Mr Tonks had assumed his father-in-law would be too old to donate – but organ donations can be made on the NHS by people of various ages, genders and races.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said: ‘I was shell-shocked by Graham’s decision. Total disbelief – he was so confident about wanting to do it.<\/p>\n

‘There is truly no gift in the world that matches what he did.<\/p>\n

‘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.<\/p>\n

‘It’s unbelievable – the kindest thing a person has ever done for me.’<\/p>\n

After nearly a year of waiting following their initial conversation, the pair were both surprised to discover how calm they felt just before the procedure.<\/p>\n

Mr Sisson said: ‘By the time we were on our way there, I wasn’t too bothered about it, to be honest.<\/p>\n

‘Because of my age, I was more concerned about post-surgery, but having met the staff at the hospital I was completely confident about the procedure.’<\/p>\n

He underwent surgery to remove his kidney in the morning before his son-in-law went under the knife in the afternoon to receive the organ.<\/p>\n

They have both since fully recovered – and Mr Tonks has said his father-in-law’s ‘selfless act’ has completely transformed his life: ‘It’s been unbelievable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Not being able to simply pass water because of dialysis, and having a fluid restriction of 500-750ml for several years, to all of a sudden drinking three litres a day was a massive shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It still feels incredible just to go to the toilet normally and not be tied to a machine.<\/p>\n

‘I watched Oasis at Heaton Park and have been to the football again.<\/p>\n

‘Even the little things in life are massive now – like my bedroom being a bedroom and not having a dialysis machine dominating it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I can eat whatever I want and live a normal life. I said at my wedding speech before the transplant that Graham is an unsung hero.<\/p>\n

‘He always helps, whether it’s a lift or financial support. He never asks for anything but gives everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It’s a surprise he did this, but also not at all, because that’s just who he is.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An 84-year-old pensioner has become Britain’s oldest donor after giving a kidney to his son-in-law – and saving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,59,102,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-497731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}