Wife’s ultimate gift could save her husband’s life

A LOCAL woman has given up one of her body's major organs to save the life of the man she loves.

When Darren Van Der Hoff's kidneys failed four years ago, his girlfriend Fiona's first thought was to give him one of hers.

Four years and one wedding on, the now husband-and-wife team are preparing for the transplant that will see both their lives changed beyond their comprehension.

Darren decided years ago to wait for a non-living kidney donor to match him for a transplant.

But after spending 20 hours a week hooked up to a dialysis machine in his Mount Ousley home, and with no guarantee of finding a donor, he decided to accept his wife's life-saving offer.

A few weeks ago Darren and Fiona discovered that Fiona's left kidney was a good enough match for the donation to go ahead and on July 9 this year the operation was carried out at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital.

Darren, 30, works at Corrimal R.S.L and Fiona, 26, works at Blue Moon Café in Towradgi as well as Stella Collectibles in Gwynneville - but both have a time consuming second job in giving Darren the dialysis he needs each week to stay alive.

Darren, who spends around five hours at a time hooked up the machine at his home, said the process has simply become a part of his everyday life.

"With the 15-20 hours a week I spend on dialysis, it's like having a second job," Darren said.

"A lot of the time you look outside and it's a beautiful day, but you just can't get out there.

"Dialysis isn't fun but after five years it's just a routine. I can't really remember what it's like not to have it - it gets very depressing."

There is a chance that Darren's body will reject his wife's kidney after the transplant and there is no way of knowing how long the new kidney will last.

When it does eventually stop working it will be back onto dialysis for Darren until a new donor can be found.

The pair are looking forward to taking decent sized holiday once the transplant is settled.

The longest period they have spent away together was during their honeymoon - which was limited to three days - the maximum amount of time Darren can safely go without dialysis.