Dad gave me a kidney so I can have my dream wedding

Kieran Innes was just 25 when he was diagnosed with kidney failure and told he would need dialysis three times a week.

He was devastated and worried that he would have to curtail plans of a dream wedding and honeymoon with fiancée Lara Russell.

Two years later his future has been transformed thanks to his kidney donor – his 63-year-old dad Brian.

“This has 100% made our bond stronger, I feel forever like I owe him,” said Kieran. “Everything I’m able to do now is because of him and I have no worries any more.”

The couple are due to tie the knot in Uphall, West Lothian, next month before jetting off on a “minimoon” to New York, followed by a honeymoon in Italy in October.

“Things would be a lot different had I still been on dialysis,” the 27-year-old pizza chef said.

“We were planning the wedding anyway but things would have been a lot different had I still been on dialysis and the honeymoon would have been a bit of a disaster to plan.

“You can do it but it involves the NHS arranging for dialysis in another country, which is incredible that they can do that, but would have been very difficult.”

Kieran began feeling very unwell when he was on a family holiday in Cullen, Moray, in July 2022.

In St John’s Hospital in Livingston the following day, he was told his blood pressure was “through the roof”.

Six weeks later, medics said his kidneys were failing. He was fitted with a stent in his chest and he was put on dialysis.

Kieran “absolutely hated” having the stent. It made showering difficult because it was not to get wet and he feared catching it on his clothing and bed sheets.

He was put on the waiting list for a kidney but was warned that it could take a very long time.

So his fiancée, Lara, 29, asked both their families for a live kidney donation.

“That was something I was petrified about, I don’t know how to approach that kind of thing but I had a lot of help from my fiancée, she was really forward in helping me ask,” Kieran said.

Eight people came forward to offer their kidney including Lara’s dad and Kieran’s brother and sister.

However, Kieran’s dad was the one the hospital chose to go forward with the operation in March 2024.

Brian, who lives in Prestonpans in East Lothian, told BBC Scotland News how he was “anxious and nervous” at the thought of the operation.

The father-of-seven said: “They go over the scenarios, they have to be truthful, as with any surgery, and they said there was a chance of death and I was thinking about my other six children.

“However, kidney transplants are quite routine now and although it was always at the back of my mind I wasn’t that anxious about it and once I made the decision I was committed to it.”

Brian had found it hard seeing how much his son was suffering on dialysis and wanted to do something to change the situation.

He added: “He was elated when I told him I would give him a kidney and thought it was wonderful that I was doing it for him.”

When Brian woke up after the surgery he felt “relieved” and immediately asked if his son was well.

“Kieran’s life is back to normal now and he’s back working,” Brian said.

“He wouldn’t be able to go straight to New York after the wedding [without the transplant].

“It’s definitely brought us closer together. He’s always hugging me now and he arranged a trip for us to go away together earlier this year as a thank you.

“I’m proud of what I did. I’m sure anyone would do that for their kids.”

Brian, who has worked as a cameraman for BBC Scotland for more than 40 years, bounced back quickly from the operation.

He was back at work on light duties after eight weeks and flew out to cover the European football championships in Germany a further four weeks later in June 2024.

The kidney should last about 25 years, meaning Kieran will need about three transplants in his lifetime.

So what will Brian be thinking this Father’s Day?

“Obviously I have seven kids so you’ve got to think about them all but I have a soft spot for Kieran and what I did for him,” he said.

Kieran said: “I feel so happy now, I owe my dad my life. I’m able to get married stress-free now and have my dream wedding because of him and be able to spend time with my siblings and fiancée as well as plan to travel and then settle down to have children.”

For more information and support on organ transplants, visit BBC Action Line.