Scottish farmer to the stars reveals he gave kidney to save stranger

The Scotsman | Natalie Walker


Photo: Dan Phillips

A RENOWNED deer farmer has helped set up a new donor campaign and revealed how he donated one of his kidneys to a complete stranger.

John Fletcher is a respected venison producer with an array of A-list customers including television chefs Nigella Lawson, Delia Smith and Gordon Ramsay.

But he has kept his proudest achievement to date – donating one of his kidneys to a mother-of-five he had never met – from the public until now.

Fletcher, 65, said his own doctor “asked if he was bonkers” when he told him about his plan to become what is known as an “altruistic donor”.

Now he has co-founded a campaign called “Give a kidney – One’s enough” to encourage more people to follow suit, insisting it could save 300 lives in the UK every year.

A spokeswoman for NHS Blood and Transplant, which co-ordinates donor services, said: “What John’s done is amazing, it is really selfless for someone to donate altruistically to someone they don’t know. Three people die every day waiting for a kidney donor and acts like this really speak for themselves.”

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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}