Why I gave a kidney to a work colleague

When Ninon Ferguson offered to donate one of her kidneys to a colleague at work, he thought she was joking.

Stuart Middleton had received a transplant from his mother several years earlier but the organ was starting to fail.

So when Ninon offered him one of her kidneys while they were chatting at work, he did not believe it at first.

However, the 36-year-old mother-of-one was determined to go ahead.

She told BBC Scotland she had wanted to do something "significant" in her life.

"People have asked me why I did it and the answer is I did it for his two young sons," she said.

"Children without parents is a painful thought for me.

"My son is the same age as his eldest, and when I heard I couldn't bear imagining for even one second his sons losing a dad."

At the time her family, who live in the French Alps, questioned her decision - but now they ask after Stuart's health.

"My family were taken aback and were really worried about the long-term difficulties," she said.

"They also thought kidney donation was for a family member, not a colleague. But they are so proud of me now that they can see I've fully recovered.

"Stuart is an amazing person and I know I made the right decision. I'm very glad I did it."

Ninon, a transactions manager at energy company Intergen, lives in Edinburgh with her eight-year-old son, Zander.

She kept her decision secret from most people, including other colleagues, until after the transplant operation in November 2017.

"I didn't want anyone to change my mind and I didn't want anyone to jinx it. I was certain I wanted to do it so I didn't tell a soul," she said.

Ninon had to undergo physical tests to see if she was a match, but said that a medical interview was "the hardest bit".

"They were asking me all these questions to make sure I knew of the risks of the operation and I couldn't remember all the details," she recalled.

"I got flustered and started crying because I thought I had messed it up."

However, she passed and the operation went ahead.

Ninon said she suffered back pain for a few weeks after the operation, but now lives a "healthy and happy" life with one kidney. She said she wanted to encourage other people to consider donating a kidney.

Intergen has given her an award at work for an "outstanding act of kindness and selflessness".

David Bogie, the company's financial controller, said: "There is a balance you strike at work between being professional and being a good friend, and this goes beyond what I would expect or consider doing myself.

"It takes something special to give a part of you to a work colleague and I find it quite extraordinary.

"I and other colleagues were shocked and surprised, but equally it gave us a sense of incredible pride."

Stuart, 46, said he was "incredibly lucky" to have met Ninon and described her generosity as "incomprehensible".

"I don't think there are many colleagues who would have done this," he said.

"And the even more incredible part is she doesn't think it's a big deal. It's hard to convey just quite how special a person she is."

Professor Lorna Marson, from Kidney Research UK, said it was common for people to offer a kidney to a family member - but less common for someone to donate to a casual acquaintance or co-worker.

In the UK, more than 100 people a year donate a kidney to someone they do not know.

"A transplant procedure comes with risks for both donor and recipient, but a successful operation can be life-changing for the kidney patient," she said.

Stuart, who lives in Lauder in the Scottish Borders, had already gone through a transplant nine years before he received a new kidney from Ninon.

He was given a kidney from his mother, Val Middleton, 76, after discovering that he had Berger's disease - where a build up of antibodies destroy the kidney's function.

Ninon said she knew that the kidney she had donated would also stop working one day.

"But you have to be positive and I hold onto the fact my kidney was young so it will be longer before it fails," she said.

"I've saved someone's life, I am very proud of myself and can now always feel I've done at least one special thing in my life.

"It's great to see him doing so well and that makes me so happy."