A son is giving his dad a second chance at life by donating one of his kidneys.

All his life Stuart Hillary, 20, of Ridley Road, Currock, Carlisle, has seen his dad, Edmund Hillary, 60, struggle with kidney problems.

Though Edmund had a kidney transplant 15 years ago, on Christmas Day last year his body rejected it – leaving him with five per cent renal function.

He was put back on dialysis and the transplant list.

As his dad waited hopefully for a transplant and endured dialysis, which he has to do three times a week for four and a half hours, Stuart decided he wanted to donate one of his own kidneys.

He said: “It’s my dad. Of course I’d do it if I have the chance and now I have got the chance to do it.

“I’m just happy to have the opportunity to donate to dad instead of waiting for someone to donate.”

Stuart and Edmund are now encouraging more people to sign up to the organ donor register.

Currently in Cumbria there are 50 people on the transplant waiting list and 82 people received transplants in

2015/16. Stuart and Edmund are waiting anxiously by the phone as they could get the call up for the operation at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital any time within the next two months.

“He’s not just my son, he’s my best friend,” said Edmund. “Since he was born and he could walk we have done everything together.”

Edmund, who had to give up work as a DJ because of his kidney problems, is really looking forward to the operation and returning to squash and golf.

However mum Mandy Hillary, 42, who is Edmund’s full time carer, is anxious about the operation. She said: “It’s a bit of a shock for me because I’m going to have my husband and my son at the Freeman under the knife.

“The doctors said to [Stuart], ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’. He said: ‘I want my dad better, I don’t want my dad to die.’”

Since deciding to donate his kidney, Stuart and Edmund have had extensive tests which showed they were compatible matches.

There were a few concerns after Edmund’s antibodies attacked Stuart’s blood but medics found a way round that and will suppress Edmund’s immune system a few days before the operation.

Edmund first found out he had kidney problems 20 years ago when he kept being sick in the morning. But he refused to go to the doctor. It wasn’t until Mandy called a doctor to the house, who sent him to hospital straight away, that he found out he had kidney failure.

His kidneys had shrunk from the size of fists to raisins and his body was fulls of toxins that hadn’t been processed out of his blood. He was put on dialysis and the transplant list and had to give up the sports which he loved.

Edmund was called up for possible transplants twice but on both occasions had a chest infection so the operation couldn’t go ahead.

Finally on November 29, 2001, surgeons fitted Edmund with a kidney from a 69-year-old man who died in a car accident.

The surgery left him with an 18ins, boomerang shaped scar across his pelvis and up his waist and gave him a new lease of life. He said: “From being ill and thinking the worst and then getting the transplant, it totally changed my life. It was exhilarating really. You just get a rush.

“I was just grateful and thankful to the donor.”

Edmund wrote a letter of thanks to his donor’s family and returned to normal life. But he knew that the transplanted kidney would not last for ever – he said generally transplants from the dead last 10 years, whereas those from living people last as long as the organ receiver lives.

After 16 years, Edmund’s body rejected the transplanted kidney and Stuart decided he wanted to do something to help, a decision that both surprised and delighted his parents.

“It means a new life,” said Edmund. “There was no pressure or anything for Stuart to do this, he volunteered himself. It means a lot. I’ll get back to normal functioning life, being able to do things I like.”

Mandy said: “He’s seen his dad going through the bad times the last time he was on dialysis and he wanted to make him better.

“I’m so proud of him. He’s our only son and I’m so happy for him.”

You can register to donate at https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-to-donate/