'GIVE a kidney — one's enough' is the message one West Devon man would like to spread far and wide.

David Hemmings knows only too well what a life-changing act kidney donation can be — he donated one of his organs to a complete stranger on the eve of his 67th birthday.

Kidney transplants have been taking place in the UK since 1960 and around 1,000 living donor transplants take place in the UK each year — the majority of these between friends or relatives of the recipient.

But in 2006 the Human Tissue Act made it legal for strangers to donate a kidney to someone in need and the first altruistic, as it is known, donation in the UK took place in 2007.

David said: 'I read an article about it, I think it was in the Times, around the middle of 2009 and I thought "I could do that".

'I talked it through with my wife, she was very supportive. I made a few enquiries and went to see what they call a transplant co-ordinator, who is a specialist nurse, in Plymouth.

'She was brilliant, an absolute star, and she gave me all the information I needed.

'We started doing a series of tests and checks — it's an exhaustive screening process, as you can imagine.'

Testing takes roughly six to nine months — eventually David was given the all important appointment to see if he would be accepted as a donor.

'I was convinced he was going to say no — I was 66 at the time, I was on a bit of medication for blood pressure and I'd spent some time in Africa years before, when I'd picked up an illness, so I thought "they're not going to buy this", but he said "there's one reason you can't donate — you have to lose ten kilos!",' said David.

Determined to become a donor, David lost the weight and underwent the operation in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

Even prior to surgery, he said he felt no apprehension, thanks to the 'absolutely amazing' screening process.

'One of the first things I remember when I came around after the operation was two orderlies singing happy birthday to me!' he said.

'Then 24 hours after the operation the surgeon came to see me. He was happy with all his stitching, and he said the message from the other end was that everything was fine and the kidney had started working almost immediately, but apparently her first words were to ask how I was — that still gets to me, even now.'

David had his operation on a Tuesday — he said he was back home by the Friday and was 'signed off' and 'completely back to normal' within three weeks.

Initially, David said he hadn't wanted to tell anyone other than very close family and friends about his donation, and had approached the whole process in a very unemotional way.

This all changed several weeks after his operation.

'I got a card from a woman called Evelyn who had received my kidney, and it just blew me away.

'She explained about how her life had been before, she was on home dialysis for nine hours every night, because of it she had to work funny hours, her diet was very restricted, she was very restricted in what fluids she could drink.

'Her great love was swimming but because of the danger of infection, she couldn't even have a bath.

'After I read that, I thought it doesn't matter about what people think of me for doing it, we have to get more people aware that it's possible to do.'

David said since altruistic donation began, the eldest donor had been an 85-year-old lady from Lancashire — the youngest, a 22-year-old man.

'At the time I had my operation, there was about a 20-hour window from removing it to it being transplanted. It was packed in ice and apparently went up the M5 in the back of a Fiesta!', said David.

'Now, there are technological advances and the organs are kept in a solution at body temperature, with the solution being pumped through the kidney, so it fools it that it's still working.'

David said following a transplant, some donors will not hear anything at all from the recipient of their kidney, although most people will get a letter. He said in most cases there would be complete anonymity between the two parties, although very occasionally, if both agree, and with the medical experts' blessing, some do establish regular contact. He and Evelyn exchange Christmas cards — but the communication stops there.

Not long after his operation, and determined to spread the word about the importance of donation, David became one of the founding members of the Give a Kidney charity, formally set up in London in November 2011.

He was number 57 on the list of altruistic donors in the UK — the number has since grown to more than 250 and he believes the work of the charity in highlighting the awareness about altruistic donation has surprised even NHS transplant professionals, with whom it works closely.

'By the end of the month, we should be looking at 110 people coming forward in this financial year — I don't think they thought it would ever be that many,' he said.

David said the vision of the charity was that no-one should have to wait for a kidney.

There are about 6,300 people on the waiting list currently and David said it was estimated that around 1,000 people would be lucky enough to receive a donated organ per year. Sadly, around 300 people on the waiting list are likely to die within any 12 month period.

The vast majority of people undergoing a transplant receive their kidney from a member of the family. A certain number will receive organs as a result of the death of a registered donor.

David said if those 110 altruistic donations do take place this year, the figure would represent between ten and eleven percent of all living donations — testament to the contribution the Give a Kidney charity is making.

Donors are also saving the NHS a pretty penny. Dialysis treatment costs around £30,000 a year. The cost of a kidney transplant and aftercare is about £10,000.

'We are talking of potentially saving £20,000 a year for each donation. Recent research has shown that transplanted kidneys are lasting 20 years — if you look at these savings over that length of time, the figures are quite something.'

The charity's website provides a vital tool for people considering altruistic donation. By visiting the site, people can be put in contact with donors who have been through the process and give them first hand information.

And awareness of how the body can cope with just one kidney is another vital part of the charity's awareness campaign.

David said some people actually only have one kidney anyway and happily live their lives imagining they have two.

And there are many misconceptions about donation. Age is no barrier, you don't have to be a super-fit person — and many people mistakenly believe they would never be able to drink alcohol again if they donated a kidney!

'The message is that anybody who is reasonably fit can donate with an absolute minimum of risk to themselves,' said David.

'I want people to be aware that it can be done, to talk about it and not regard it as something freaky or peculiar. It should be something that's more commonplace because of the importance it has on the recipient, which is absolutely life-changing.

'My experience has not all been about donation; I have personally received much from the knowledge that I have helped improve the quality of life of someone else.

'Perhaps the greatest thing is a feeling of privilege and gratitude for having been able to contribute to the work of the transplant teams, who are doing this amazing work, week in, week out.'

For more information about altruistic kidney donation, go to http://www.giveakidney.org">www.giveakidney.org