A woman has donated her kidney to her ex-husband, five years after they divorced. Dan Pyatt, 44, and ex-wife Kelly Hope, 43, have two...
A woman has donated her kidney to her ex-husband, five years after they divorced.
Dan Pyatt, 44, and ex-wife Kelly Hope, 43, have two children together and began dating when they were 18. They got married 13 years later.
When Dan fell ill with an aggressive type of kidney disease he was put on dialysis and on a deceased donor waiting list. At this time, the couple had divorced.
After 12 months on the waiting list and no donor, Kelly offered to donate one of her kidneys to the father of her children. But this led to a disagreement between the former couple as Dan said he didn't want her to do that.
She said: "He said to me, ‘I can’t ask you to do that’. But I told him, ‘It’s not up to you. It’s my decision. I know what the risks are and I’m doing it.’
"Even though we weren’t together any more, I wasn’t prepared to let my children be without a father."
To me, I was giving a kidney to the father of my children and the best friend I’ve had since I was 11. We might not be married now, but we’re still very much a family and I had to make that sacrifice to keep our family together."
As for Dan, he is still overwhelmed by his ex-wife’s extraordinary gesture.
He said: "It was truly a selfless act, to put your own life on the line to help someone else is amazing. Kelly will always be my hero."
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