A mother's gift
An emotional son has thanked his mother for the precious gift of life.
Damian and Sheila Stafford are both now recovering in the Royal Melbourne Hospital after a life-saving kidney transplant.
Damian suffers from a serious kidney condition that worsened late last year.
The 33-year-old desperately needed a new kidney, and offers quickly came forward from his sisters and parents, but it was mum Sheila who proved to be a near-perfect match.
"People keep saying how wonderful it is, but it just seems so natural for me to say 'yes, we've got to do this'," Sheila told Seven News reporter Karen O'Sullivan.
Both underwent surgery last week at the Royal Melbourne Hospital with Damian receiving his mother's kidney.
"I'm just going to love her deeply for the rest of my life," he said.
Damian is expected to now live a normal, healthy life with his two boys, and partner, Sylvia.
Without his mother's precious gift, Damian would have been on an organ waiting list for three to five years and would face daily dialysis.
Just four days after the operations, doctors are amazed at the pair's recovery.
Dr Rosemary Masterton said: "Damian's kidney function is now almost normal, which is phenomenal and Sheila has had no complications. Her kidney function is back to normal."
Sheila says being a live organ donor has been an amazing experience that has brought the pair even closer together.
"I'd say to anybody who is thinking about it to actually do it, because it's such a wonderful thing to be involved with," she said.
For more information about becoming an organ donor, visit Donate Life.
