Big-hearted Engineer Joe Wright was recently welcomed back to work after donating one of his kidneys... in the hope of helping someone regain their life.
And now, he's already had a thank-you card (see attached) from the 22-year-old woman recipient for "totally changing her life". She had been on dialysis three times a week until she got the call a donor match - our Joe - had been found.
In a moving letter, she put: "I will never forget this selfless act you've done for me" and said she hoped they could meet up soon.
27yr old Joe is back at work for CHS Ltd in the estates offices at HRI and his team have hailed him a Hero and had a collection iin his honour.
Joe, said: “I did it because I thought it would be a good thing to do, and I see patients in the renal unit here having dialysis looking really poorly. I just wanted to help a bit.
“So when I saw a leaflet in a main reception, I decided to make enquiries, and had my first consultation in March last year.
“The consultant told me everything about the process and that I could change my mind right until the moment I was due to have the operation, though actually it made me come out of that meeting wanting to do it even more!
“The operation didn’t have much of on an impact on me. I felt a bit washed out for a couple of weeks until my remaining kidney kicked in, but feel fine now.
“I wasn’t allowed to know who my kidney had gone to, though the recipient can write to me via the organ donation team. So when I got the thank you card (see below) it made me cry immediately when I saw the impact on this lady who had been on dialysis for more than two and a half years. She said in the card that she felt her life had come to a standstill and she'd given up hope.
The card also said how Joe had "saved her life and she would never forget the selfless act" by him.
“She’d previously had to give up her career caring for people and now she can start looking at her future again.”
Admin Manager Helen Boothroyd, pictured with Joe and his line manager Jason Clancy, said “As soon as we heard what Joe was doing we were all totally amazed in the office. He was just so matter of fact about everything that was happening. We are all so proud of Joe, he is our Hero.
“So we had a collection in the office and will be donating the £175 raised to the Satellite Renal Unit here at HRI."
Read more about organ donation and sign-up to the register here.
