Wiltshire man donates kidney to woman he met after crash

Two people who met through tragic circumstances have united for a life-saving kidney transplant.

Tim Swinburn, from Melksham in Wiltshire, met Clare Brixey, from Standerwick in Somerset, in 2004, when he had to knock on her door to explain her 20-year-old son, Ashley, had died in a car crash.

At the time, Ms Brixey was already suffering from kidney failure and reliant on dialysis. The pair kept in touch and when Mr Swinburn found out her previous transplant was failing, he offered her his kidney.

“Giving the gift of life, to me it’s just a human thing to do,” he said. “Anyone with a heart would give something to keep someone else alive.”

The successful transplant at Southmead Hospital in Bristol took four hours in October.

Both parties have recovered well with Mr Swinburn back at work, and Ms Brixey has gone horse-riding for the first time in years.

Both are in the process of planning fundraisers for transplant-related charities.

Ms Brixey has described Mr Swinburn as a “man in a million” following the transplant.

He is now a support worker at The Salvation Army’s Swindon Booth House after resigning from Wiltshire Police in 2007.

She said: “He was my family liaison officer; the person who knocked on my door to tell me my son had been killed in a road traffic collision.

“He was such a compassionate man and very easy to talk to and supportive to our family.

“We just seemed to gel and we’ve been friends for 21 years.

“He’s been here to support me and I’ve been there to support him. When my first kidney transplant started to fail, he told me ‘you’re going to have one of mine and I won’t take no as an answer.'”

Mr Swinburn added: “Clare is one of those special people, we’ve joked over the years we are like siblings.

“She is an amazing friend. Over my life I’ve had my ups and downs and she’s been there for me, and vice versa.

“[When I offered the transplant] she kept saying ‘are you sure?’, when I knew she would do the same for me.

“There was no question in my mind. To know she is out there riding her horse again, to see her out there with her grand-daughter and daughter, that’s the reason I did it.”