A brave York wife is hoping to transform her sick husband's life - by giving him one of her kidneys.

Mike Hardgrave, a former reservist in the SAS (motto: Who Dares Wins), has suffered four years of constant thirst, and restricted diet and lifestyle, plus dialysis treatment three times a week, since he was struck by kidney failure in 1994.

Hopes of a kidney transplant looked slim because one key potential donor, his sister, had the wrong blood type, and there is a nationwide shortage of kidneys from people who have died.

But then his wife Angela, 50, stepped in and offered to let surgeons remove one of her kidneys, in the hope that she and Mike, and their daughters Lucy and Emily, could once again enjoy an ordinary life.

Mr Hardgrave, 53, of Hope Street, off Walmgate, says that spouses were once thought unsuitable as donors because they were not blood relatives.

But research had now shown that after people have been living together for a long time, their immune systems matched up.

"We have shared the same air and the same food, exchanged illnesses and germs and so on," he said.

"After 26 years, your immune systems get into step."

He says his wife already knows how painful it can be having a kidney removed, because she witnessed his experiences when one of his kidneys became cancerous and had to be taken out.

"She is a genuine hero. She's a very brave woman. I'm very proud of her."

The Francis Drake of York Lodge of the Freemasons, of which Mike is a member, offered to pay for him to go to America for the transplant, before doctors at Leeds agreed to do it on the NHS.

Angela shares Mike's blood group, but has nevertheless been through a series of tests to see if she is healthy enough to undergo the surgery. Doctors will give her their verdict next month.

She said she wanted them to be able to resume their old social life. "We can't go out and eat or drink, or out for a walk or cycle ride. He can't walk far. Dialysis is just keeping him alive.

"I have seen all that the operation would entail and I'm prepared to go through with it."

Mike says his life has already been greatly improved through the opening of a new renal unit in York, which saves him and many other kidney patients the time and expense of regular trips to Leeds for treatment and consultations.

He asked York MP Hugh Bayley for his support, and the MP's promptings helped bring about the unit, which will be officially opened by Health Secretary Frank Dobson tomorrow.

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