A mother-of-four from South Wales who needed a new kidney has received one from a stranger who saw her Facebook appeal. Karen Davey, 42, had exhausted all avenues to find a suitable donor as her health deteriorated, so she turned to social media.
Arriving home from a night shift, Gary Summerfield, 60, was scrolling on the site when he spotted her post. He reached out to her and, after learning he was a match, donated one of his kidneys in an operation in July.
Facebook appeal leads to match
Karen, from South Wales, said: "I was lucky to find somebody like Gary, but there are good people out there and people that want to help. He's just my hero. He's an amazing person inside and out. I've loved getting to know him and we will continue to be friends."
Karen had a heart transplant 10 years ago after suffering a heart attack while watching her son play football. "I knew when I had my heart transplant 10 years ago that at some point I would probably need a kidney because the drugs I'm on for the heart are toxic to them," she said.
Three years ago, doctors discovered her kidney function was deteriorating. "I found out about three years ago then I dropped into stage three kidney failure," Karen added. "And it just gradually went down from there."
Her friends and family were all tested to see whether they could donate a kidney, but none were suitable matches. She faced a nationwide shortage of donors, with a wait of two to three years, revealed this week by NHS Blood and Transplant. With a living donor, the wait can be about three to six months.
'We explored all avenues'
Karen, who is a grandmother of one, said: "My family all got tested first, and nobody was suitable, and friends then and again nobody was suitable, and that's when I put the plea on Facebook. It was a big decision to do with that, but we explored all avenues, and we thought, 'well, we'll give it a go and see what happens because we've got nothing to lose'. Quite a few people came through."
The online appeal received a number of responses, including one from Gary, who came across Karen's post after finishing a night shift. Gary said: "I came home from work after a night shift and had a doom scroll on Facebook. All of a sudden, Karen's plea came up. I just felt an overwhelming desire to help her and her family."
After discussing it with his loved ones, Gary, a security guard from Blaenau Gwent, decided to begin the donation process. "I spoke to my family and asked them what they thought of it, and they said they know I'm a strong believer in donated organs," he added.
Karen said Gary kept her updated throughout the lengthy testing process. About six weeks before the operation, Karen learned that Gary had been approved to donate and then met him for the first time before the transplant.
Health battle started with heart attack
Karen's health battle began years earlier when she suffered what she initially thought was a minor problem while watching her son play football. "I was at the side of a football pitch watching my son play football and all of a sudden I had this horrendous pain in my chest," she said. "Not at one point did I think it was a heart attack."
Doctors discovered she had suffered a spontaneous heart attack. During surgery to repair a hole in her heart, she suffered three more heart attacks. "When they went to repair the hole, I had three more heart attacks on the table," Karen said. "It destroyed the left side of the heart."
She eventually underwent a heart transplant and spent three months in hospital at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. "It's been difficult because even though I've had the heart transplant, it's like a temporary fix," Karen added. "It doesn't make you better because I know that at any point that heart can go wrong because it's not mine."
Gary 'is my hero'
Years later, routine tests revealed her kidneys were failing, and at their worst, they got down to seven per cent. She had already begun dialysis, but that created further risks because of her transplanted heart.
"The dialysis puts pressure on the heart, so that's why I needed a donor sooner rather than later," Karen said. "But I was on the transplant list as well, but the transplant list is about three years long. And I can't put any extra pressure on the heart."
Fortunately for Karen, Gary proved to be a match, with the transplant taking place on July 15. Karen's recovery was not without complications. "I caught an infection, so I ended up having a second operation where they had to reopen the wound," she said. "I was in the hospital for 17 days. But I'm feeling so much better than I was. The infection's gone now and the wound's healing slowly."
Karen said posting the Facebook appeal was one of the best decisions she ever made. "I thought long and hard about it because I didn't know how it would go down. But it was the best thing I did," she said.
Speaking about her donor, she added: "He's just my hero. He's an amazing person inside and out. And I've loved getting to know him. And we will continue to be friends."
But Gary insists the real hero is Karen. "I believe it was an easy process for me; there's nothing heroic about that," he said. "If there's somebody out there desperate for help, you go to help."
Praising her determination throughout years of serious health challenges, he added: "Karen is a hero. She is a warrior." After receiving the lifesaving transplant, Karen says her family are simply grateful for the second chance.
