Last updated 21:02, Thursday, 30 October 2008

A MARYPORT man who was given the gift of life is helping to spread a key message that could save others.

Thomas Nutter, of Edinburgh Road, had a kidney transplant in June 2005 after spending two-and-a-half years on the waiting list.

His life was saved by a caring stranger – and Mr Nutter wants to help put the spotlight on the call for more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.

The 66-year-old, who had his transplant at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, urged everyone to pledge to donate their organs after their death.

He said: “Anyone who doesn’t, I think, is wrong because they will probably need it themselves some day.

“I never thought I would need a transplant – it just came on.”

Before his transplant, Mr Nutter had to travel to Carlisle for dialysis three times a week, with sessions lasting for four hours at a time.

On one occasion, he was even called to the Freeman for a new organ, only to be told that the kidney had been given to another patient.

Fortunately, he only had to wait a further two weeks before receiving a donated organ.

Mr Nutter explained his new kidney means he no longer has to be so careful about his diet.

“My kidneys were working before the transplant but not to full capacity,” he said.

“I had to cut down on potassium and drink on average about a litre a day.

“The first thing I did after I got the transplant was to get a banana from the canteen, because I hadn’t had one for more than three years.

“I can have little things now that I could not have before, but I still have to cut down on salt.”

He first noticed problems with his eyesight 15 years ago, which led to him being diagnosed with exceptionally high blood pressure.

This high blood pressure then began to shrink his kidneys, and the gradual deterioration meant that he eventually needed a transplant.

In the three years since his operation, he has had no ill-effects but will have to take anti-rejection tablets on a daily basis for the rest of his life.

Mr Nutter added that he had been given the opportunity to make contact with the family of the donor, but he did not wish to take it any further.

“I am not that way inclined,” he said.

The need for more organ donors was recently highlighted by the plight of 14-month-old Theo Davies, from Keswick, who sadly died while waiting for a heart transplant.

It is because of people like little Theo that Mr Nutter is backing calls for an opt-out system to be introduced, with everyone automatically placed on a national register.

He said: “It is about time the Government decided that when people die they should take everything. Even if you save one life, that is enough.”

How you can pledge to give a legacy of life – Page 4