When Karl Preen heard his older brother needed a kidney transplant he did not hesitate to come to the rescue.

The teenager from Dudley is very close to 27-year-old Jamie and said offering one of his own kidneys for the operation was the easiest decision he has ever had to make.

The brothers are now recovering well following their successful surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.  Jamie, who lives in Telford, started going into kidney failure three years ago.

Since then he has been having dialysis treatment in hospital three times a week.

But doctors believed a kidney transplant was his best hope of living a normal life.

It also means he doesn’t have to spend so much time in hospital getting treatment.

Karl said: “When I heard he needed a transplant I didn’t need to think twice. It is not something you really have to think about. I had to do it, he is my brother.”

The 19-year-old underwent a two-and-a-half hour operation in February while his brother’s lasted four hours.

Karl, who has just got a job as a production operative at Ricoh’s manufacturing plant in Telford where his brother also works as a quality assurance officer,  said Jamie was “very grateful” for helping him and was recovering well.

“He is very happy. It has made a big difference to his life as he only has to go to hospital once a week for a check-up instead of three times a week for dialysis,” added Karl.

Karl who lives with mother Roz, step-father Michael and 18-year-old brother Adam in Blaze Hill Road, Wall Heath, said his family were proud of him.

“I just wanted to help him and that meant giving him my kidney, so that is what I did.

“My family are proud of what I have done but I just wanted to help,” said Karl.