With shocking NHS data1 now revealing six people die every week whilst waiting for a kidney transplant and over 7,000 people across the UK are on the waiting list, Jenson Parker-Stone, 36 from Bermondsey, is speaking up about how he donated one of his kidneys to a complete stranger. He hopes to inspire others to consider becoming a living kidney donor and raise awareness of the growing need for more people to consider donating.
Jenson, a trained dancer and yoga instructor, describes donating a kidney to a stranger as “something which I can imagine meant so much to someone else, but relatively took so little of my time and energy.”
He wanted to do more than just funding charities and incentives, and questioned how he could make a direct positive impact in the world. “I realised that I was my most powerful tool in being able to help improve the lives of others.”
Jenson began donating blood and plasma, before learning that you could donate a kidney to a stranger after watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. He says “it really showed how one person’s donation can have a massive impact on the lives of others. It felt like the natural next step for me.”
A poll2 carried out as part of the Make Your Mark campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the need for more living kidney donors, revealed more than one in seven (13%) people in the UK would consider donating a kidney to a stranger. If these people were to come forward to donate as Jenson did, they would not only save lives but also save the NHS money compared to keeping patients on expensive and life-limiting dialysis treatment, as shown in a report3 released by Kidney Research UK in 2023.
Jenson has now fully recovered from the surgery, which took place in 2022, and believes he is now the fittest he has ever been.
“Honestly, my donation affects my day-to-day life very little. I am back to my normal self, my routine and how I operate. Within a few months after my donation, I probably got myself to the strongest, fittest, and most compassionate I had been about my body in my entire life.”
He is sharing his story to raise awareness of living kidney donation, particularly through the Robert Dangoor Partnership for Living Kidney Donation, which offers information, resources and one-to-one peer support to anyone considering becoming a donor.
Jenson now volunteers as a Buddy as part of the UK Living Kidney Donation Buddy Support Service, offering support for others considering donation.
“During the process, I didn’t have many people around me who really understood or who could support the process emotionally. It made me feel a little alienated in the process,” he added. “I would love to give someone that opportunity to talk to someone who has experienced this whole process from A to B.”
