Jennie’s Story

A kidney patient from Kent has been given a new lease of life by her identical twin sister, who left her life in New Zealand to make a life-changing organ donation.  

Jennie Parker, 49, made the decision to move back to the UK for a year with her family in 2017, after her sister, Sue, found herself heading towards kidney failure following a diagnosis of IgA nephropathy – a type of kidney disease. 

HR director, Jennie, says: “Sue is a bright and bubbly person, but as her kidney function declined, she began feeling cold and tired with persistent headaches. She’d lost her spark and was very unwell. I didn’t think twice about donating my kidney. I don’t need two, and it has made a huge difference to Sue’s life.”

Donating a kidney

Jennie was quick to put herself forward to donate a kidney to Sue, with the transplant finally happening in March 2018.

Jennie says: “It was a rollercoaster going through all the tests to see if I was a compatible donor for Sue. I was desolate when doctors discovered protein in my urine and told me I might also have kidney disease. But thankfully, I eventually received a call to say I didn’t, everything was okay, and I was able to donate.

“For Sue it has been transformative. She has twin daughters, and they wrote a lovely message about how nice it has been to have their mum back. She has had a new lease of life. 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.

“We both have identical tattoos to mark our transplant. It’s a Māori symbol called a mangōpare – a hammerhead shark symbolising unconditional love, strength and courage – alongside the date of the transplant.”

Running the London marathon

Experiencing kidney disease in her family has motivated Jennie to make a difference for others. She is on the committee of the New Zealand Transplant Games Association, who are campaigning for the introduction of a donor registry in New Zealand, and she will be running the TCS London Marathon this April.

Jennie says: “I want to help fund research. It seems crazy to me that both my sister and brother-in-law have the same disease, but we don’t know the causes. Nobody can tell us how or why it has happened. If researchers can better understand that, maybe we can stop it and put an end to kidney disease.”