Family's anguish at new transplant blow

Lisa Williams, aged 25, from Wednesbury went through a transplant operation with her mother Sharon but her body rejected the organ. Her father Mark volunteered but was told that he could not become a donor, which left her sister Tammy, who is 23, to offer one of hers.

The first round of tests looked positive, and the family were hopeful. However, it has been discovered that antibodies in Lisa's blood are attacking Tammy's, and further tests will need to be done to see if the transplant can go ahead.

An appointment has been arranged for June 8.

Dad Mark, 47, who lives in Friar Park Road, Wednesbury, said: "Lisa's antibodies are attacking Tammy's, and we've now been referred to a professor in Coventry.

"If he can do the transplant, it would be a case of giving Tammy so many treatments before and after the operation, and we need to find out if he can do that.

"We are still getting nowhere – at the moment, it has got to be put on hold; it's just another setback."

Tammy, a care worker, lives in Bassett Road with her partner and five-year-old son Ryan and said the decision to come forward wasn't a difficult one to make.

She said: "It is hard to see her so poorly.

"Of course, I am worried about the operation but I would do anything possible to make my sister better."

Kidney patient Lisa, who lives with her partner Mark Naylor, 36, a deputy manager at a bookmakers in Parklands Road, has been on dialysis for five years after she contracted polycystic disease when she was 20.

As well as dialysis, Lisa can drink only a litre of fluid a day and has a strict diet.

"I'm 26 this year, and I just feel like I'm about 80 some days," she said.

"I feel that tired, I get so frustrated with myself because I want to do things.

"I've got a young mind but my body just doesn't want to do it.

"I've been so lucky to have a family that have really pulled together.

"I know with my family and partner around me I can push forward and try my best."