My experience of having a kidney transplant two years ago as compared to 20 years

David, you had another transplant five years ago, another kidney transplant. Two years ago. Two years ago, I'm sorry. How did that compare and contrast to your first one 20 years ago? Well, this is, you know, the expression cheek and chalk and cheese couldn't be more truthful. I knew that I had to have this transplant for me to be able to continue to have any chance of a decent life with my wife. And so I went into having this transplant which was planned with absolute confidence. I said to myself well if something happens and it goes wrong and I die so be it, but I have to have this transplant. I want a better life. Because it was a live kidney transplant, part of the pooled and shared donation scheme, there were three pairs of us. My wife wanted to contribute a kidney but she wasn't a match, so I was dependent on someone else within this scheme to be able to provide a match for me. and about six weeks prior to our date of the operation I was told by one of the Royal Free Life donor transplant nurses we've got what we think is a very good match for you. That sounded great and the operation itself my anaesthetist was a bit worried because I suffer from atrial fibrillation and so he was concerned as to whether or not I could handle a big operation like this, but I passed all of his very thorough tests. The operation went well and I am aware of being awake 15 minutes after the operation, being fully aware of what was going on around me. This is completely different experience to first time round when I couldn't focus, I wasn't sure what was going on, and this was a situation that then took 24 hours before I could see what was going on and where I was. Here I'm fully awake and loving the fact I'm alive.