Liza Smeeton's Story

Sheffield mum Liza Smeeton has NHS nurses to thank for the fact she is still alive today, and in such good health.

Not because of the treatment they offered to Liza - after polycystic kidney disease (PKD) caused her kidney function to drop to a life-threatening level - but through the power of organ donation, which ultimately saved her life.

Jayne Galloway, an NHS nurse, proposed to donate a kidney to her cousin and dear friend Liza.

Because Jayne’s kidney wasn’t quite a perfect match, Liza and Jayne entered a shared pool scheme along with two other patients in urgent need of a working kidney and their respective donors.

Liza’s perfect match just so happened to come from a totally unrelated NHS nurse living in Oxford.

Likewise, Jayne’s kidney was directed to the right recipient, ensuring that all three patients had found perfect matches, further highlighting the life-saving intervention of organ donation.

Liza, a mum of two and former NHS manager, said: “I’d worked in the health service all my life, but I quickly realised I didn’t like being a patient.

“I didn’t want to talk about the whole kidney situation to anybody. When I was first diagnosed I told very few people because I was so anxious, and I’m not generally an anxious person.

“I’m very close to my cousin Jayne. I only told her because I wanted to talk to somebody and she was the right person.

“Since having the transplant, I’m happy to tell anybody and everybody! Jayne is quite happy to tell everybody. And so she should. I had to have it done, but she didn’t. She’s our hero.”

Liza’s health deteriorated rapidly in the weeks before her transplant, which was undertaken at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield in October 2021. Sapped of any energy and impetus, Liza also suffered continuous bouts of nausea, tell tale signs of chronic kidney failure.

Liza, 60, was told by doctors she would have needed to start dialysis, had she not found a matching donor when she did.

“I’m so glad I did talk to Jayne, and she was willing to be a donor in the shared pool scheme, because it saved me from having to go through dialysis and who knows what else it might have saved,” said Liza, who lives in Hillsborough with her husband Joe.

“After the transplant I just had so much energy. It truly has been life-changing for me, and for Jayne.

“Jayne had a couple of months off work, but was very quickly up to full speed after that and back to running.

“She ran the 10k at the Westfield Health British Transplant Games in Leeds in 2022. She’s still as healthy as ever and loves her running.”

Liza’s donor, who was 27 at the time of the transplant, took part in the shared pool scheme to help her partner, himself an NHS nurse, who had actually started dialysis due to his ill health.

Liza, who worked as an audiologist for 39 years before taking early retirement ahead of her transplant, extended her gratitude and best wishes to the donor’s partner in a series of letters that have been exchanged.

“I wanted to write to her to tell her how much of a difference the transplant has made to mine and my husband’s lives,” Liza said. “I was so pleased to read that her partner was also doing well because I know he was really struggling before the operation.

“He’s back to going to the gym and is said to look better for putting on a bit of weight so there’s been a real transformation for him.

“Including Jayne, the three of them are all nurses. It’s quite strange to have that connection. My donor was only 27 at the time so I feel like I’ve been given a younger person’s energy!”

Since her transplant, Liza has exercised great physical and mental agility to complete a three-year textiles degree at Huddersfield University, during which she would regularly attend lectures on campus. “That’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” added Liza, who graduated last year.

And she has another new adventure in her sights in the form of this year’s Westfield Health British Transplant Games, taking place in Sheffield between August 6 and 9.

The Games will see around 2,500 people, including more than 1,000 transplant recipients, participate in 26 sports in venues across the city. They are the flagship event of the Transplant Active campaign, which promotes active recovery for transplant recipients and increases awareness of the benefits of organ donation.

Liza, originally from Barnsley, has expressed an interest in volunteering at the Games, and not just because of her own personal journey.

Whilst she has a burning desire to support the Games and all it stands for, she also knows Joe, her husband of nearly 38 years, has an additional connection to the event.

Joe, 65, took up crown green bowls after retiring as an academic who taught social work at several universities in the area.

“It started out as a bit of a pastime and now I’m totally addicted,” he said. Joe has become increasingly involved with Hillsborough Park Bowling Club and now holds the position as its secretary.

The club has staged many big tournaments over the years and has now been named as the official host of the crown green bowls competition at this year’s Westfield Health British Transplant Games, meaning Joe will have a hands-on role to play at the event.

“Seeing what Liza has gone through, and knowing how transformative organ donation can be for recipients, donors and their families, it’s extra special for me personally to see part of the Games played at my home club,” Joe said.

“If the bowls, or any other competition, prompts even one person to have a conversation about organ donation or to sign up to the organ donor register, it will feel like a victory.”