Thornton Heath woman treated at St Helier hospital is given kidney by stranger (From Croydon Guardian)

Thornton Heath woman treated at St Helier hospital is given kidney by stranger

3:00pm Thursday 2nd July 2009 in

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A woman from Thornton Heath who has been suffering from renal disease for eight years was offered a kidney by a stranger after a TV documentary showed her plight.

Layla Lagmouch, 28, had been undergoing dialysis at St Helier Hospital in Sutton since 2000, but Margaret Murdock, 64, from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was touched by her appearance in the documentary The Insiders, Kidneys for Sale, on Channel 4 in 2007.

Mrs Murdock then got in touch with the show’s producers and they contacted Miss Lagmouch at the hospital, to tell her the good news.

It was reported Mrs Murdock said: “It may have been an emotional decision at the time, but I’ve had plenty of time since then to think rationally, not least this week when I read an article about an Australian woman dying after donating a kidney to her daughter.

“But the odds of that happening are just 3-10,000. I won’t be pulling out, even though the headline on the article said the operation can affect the donors for the rest of their lives and even lead to death.

“Since the programme, Layla and I have struck up a tremendous friendship. I have travelled to see her in London several times and the more we talk, the more I realise I have made the right decision. I’ve also had a series of medical tests and a psychological assessment.

“The upside is I’ve discovered I’m bursting with health and more than able to donate.”

Miss Lagmouch, from Thornton Heath, featured in the Channel 4 documentary presented by transplant surgeon Professor Nadey Hakim, and was so desperate she thought about buying a kidney abroad if a donor did not come forward soon.

In an interview before the show, Miss Lagmouch said: “I know the risks, but there are risks being on dialysis. I am prepared to take my chances abroad. I can’t go on like I am now and I’ve already been waiting five years.”

Both women are now undergoing tests to ensure compatibility and, if all goes well, the transplant is expected to happen in the autumn.