A KIDNEY transplant patient has thanked her surgeon for saving her life.

Lucy Cort's mum Carole donated a kidney to her daughter six weeks ago, after the 29-year-old from Lostock was struck down by potentially fatal food poisoning causing her own kidneys to fail.

Not only did their surgeon Afshin Tavakoli save Lucy's life with the operation but this weekend he took part in a charity bike ride organised by estate agents at the Crompton Place shopping centre branch of Miller Metcalfe.

Miss Cort said: "He is just absolutely amazing. When I was trying to get my transplant they said it would be the end of May and I was struggling to wait that long as the condition was getting worse.

"In the end he came in on his day off to do the surgery.

“From the first time we met him as a family we just got on really well. He’s just really good fun and the nicest guy in the world as well as being a brilliant surgeon.”

Mr Tavakoli, who dedicates much of his spare time to transplant charity work, said: “We want to try and raise awareness as much as possible that there are many people on the transplant list waiting for life saving surgery.

“Lots of people think that kidney failure won't happen to them or their family, but the facts are there are more kidneys needed than are donated so we want to raise awareness for organ donation as much possible.

“We truly appreciate what Lucy and her family have gone through and everything they are doing to support the work we do.”

Lucy was diagnosed with renal failure after suffering various symptoms throughout her early 20s, which came to a head on family holiday to Barbados in 2009.

Miss Cort added: “I’d been having tests and seen a few people as I kept getting swelling in my legs and some nausea and my blood pressure was up and down.

“Then when we were away I was really ill, I thought I had swine flu at the time, but I was just so exhausted. I didn’t have the energy to hold my head up.”

Her parents took her to the local clinic where her blood pressure was found to be dangerously high. She was transferred to hospital by ambulance and that night told she had renal failure.

Miss Cort's previous good health meant she had never even had a filling before let alone been in hospital.

Back in the UK experts found she had a rare form of kidney disease, IgA Nephropathy.

Medics were able to manage the condition with drugs for four or five years but after a bad bout of food poisoning in February 2014 it got a lot worse and a transplant became the only option.

On April 21 this year, mother and daughter went in to Manchester Royal Infirmary together. The transplant was a success and now the pair are both recovering well.

To donate call in to Miller Metcalfe at Crompton Place shopping centre, or visit their fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MillerMetcalfe