“These people are not crackpots or loons.”

Since 2007, 88 people have donated a kidney to a stranger. Patients typically live 10 to 15 years longer with a kidney transplant than if they were kept on dialysis.

The long-term risk of dying from donating a kidney is no greater than for anyone of a similar age who has not had a kidney removed. 

Paul Gibbs, consultant transplant surgeon for Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, has performed nearly 200 kidney transplants. Speaking about altruistic donors, he said: “These people are not crackpots or loons; they are very normal yet extraordinary individuals. They come from all walks of life: men, women, young and old.”