A woman from Kent has spoken of the life-changing decision she made to donate a kidney and now she will be running the London Marathon.
It all started with flying around the globe from New Zealand to save her twin sister’s life. Jennie Parker, 49, is now preparing to run the TCS London Marathon to raise money for Kidney Research UK and to show that she has been able to live well having donated a kidney.
Jennie Parker, an HR director, had been living in New Zealand for three years when her sister Sue’s kidneys started failing. Sue was living with IgA nephropathy, a condition that had slowly worn down her kidney function. When her husband was unable to donate his kidney, her twin stepped in from halfway around the world.
Jennie left her job, rented out her family home, and moved her entire household back to the UK for a year so she could donate her kidney and support her sister.
“I didn’t think twice about donating,” Jennie said, “I don’t need two kidneys, and it’s made a huge difference to Sue’s life. I’m excited and terrified about the marathon, but now I have my sister back, and with Sue and the rest of the family cheering me on, I feel I can keep on going!”
Sue had first been diagnosed with IgA nephropathy in 2003 after a visit to her GP revealed dangerously high blood pressure. Medication helped manage her condition for many years, but by 2016 her kidney function had dropped dramatically.
“Seeing Sue so unwell was heartbreaking,” Jennie said, “She was always cold, she had headaches, she was always tired. She was not in a great place, and she’s a usually a really bright, bubbly person. She’d lost her spark.”
Plans for a pre-emptive transplant were soon in motion – only for her husband to be ruled out as her donor after he was also diagnosed with the same kidney disease.
“That was a real shock,” Jennie said. “But I immediately put myself forward. It was tough when doctors found protein in my urine during the tests and thought I might also have the disease, but eventually I was given the all-clear and got the green light. The transplant went ahead in March 2018, and I’ve never looked back.”
For Sue, the impact of a transplant has been transformative. “She has a new lease of life,” Jennie said. “She has twin daughters, and they wrote me a lovely message about how nice it has been to have their mum back. This year we’re going to climb Kilimanjaro together to celebrate turning fifty. She wouldn’t be able to do that without her transplanted kidney.”
Jennie has returned to live in New Zealand where she continues to advocate for transplant patients through her work with the New Zealand Transplant Games Association and is campaigning for the introduction of a donor register in the country. And this month, she will be flying the flag for Kidney Research UK at the London Marathon.
“I want to help fund research because we need answers,” she said. “It seems unbelievable that both Sue and her husband have the same condition and we still don’t know why. If we can better understand the causes, maybe we can stop kidney disease altogether.”
Lucy Sreeves, executive director at Kidney Research UK, commented: “Jennie has already given her sister the most incredible gift, and now she’s going the extra mile – and 25 more – for people she’s never even met.”
“It’s thanks to extraordinary fundraisers like Jennie that we can continue driving forward research to transform the future for kidney patients. We’re incredibly grateful that she’s taking on the London Marathon and wish her the best of luck!”
Jennie will run the London Marathon for Kidney Research UK on Sunday 27th April.