THEY might be perfect strangers, but they will share a unique bond for the rest of their lives.

Five months ago, David Mayes and Chris Kendall were in the same hospital ready to go into surgery.

Chris, who had never met David and knew nothing about him, was about to give him his kidney.

The 49-year-old did not even know the gender of the person who would receive his kidney – he was one of just 23 people nationwide simply doing it because he could.

But now the pair are in touch and say they feel like "long-lost brothers".

David, of Barnwood, had been diagnosed with Medullary sponge kidney (MSK) in the early 1990s.

It meant cysts were growing on his kidneys, stopping them from working properly.

In September last year he went onto dialysis and his name was put on the transplant waiting list.

His wife Di, 40, was preparing to give him one of her kidneys but she was not an ideal match.

Then just after Christmas David, 55, received a call to say a perfect match – which only 15 per cent of transplants achieve – had been found instead.

He said: "I can't thank Chris enough. Chris didn't have to do it. If you're getting a kidney from a deceased person I imagine it's a different feeling but this time nobody had to lose someone. Nobody's had to die for me to live a normal life.

"Afterwards it was strange. We had this incredibly close bond, but we'd never met."

Chris, from Bristol, said he first heard about altruistic giving through a news report, and decided it was something he could do.

He went through nine months of health checks before being given the all-clear to become a donor.

With current statistics showing three people die every day waiting for a transplant, both men are adamant that more needs to be done to promote altruistic giving.

The Citizen launched a campaign three years ago tomorrow to encourage more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register – and now we hope to alert people to this new way to give.

Only 23 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have become altruistic organ donors – giving up a part of their body to help save the life of a complete stranger.

Chris, a director for the Department of Communities and Local Government, said: "On the day of the operation it was a strange feeling. I didn't know who was going to get my kidney, but I knew he or she was in the hospital. I was looking at and wondering if everyone who came in was going to get my kidney.

"I had to come to terms with the fact I might never find out who it had gone to."

The operation was a success.

Di, who works for the RAF, said: "The first time I came in Dave looked so much better. On dialysis he had looked so pale, and sallow.

"He had gone all pink. It was lovely to see."

It was up to David to decide if he wanted to make contact with Chris. Through the transport coordinators in Southmead Hospital, he wrote his thanks and invited Chris to write back to him.

David, an aviation manager who works at Staverton, said: "We didn't even know what each other looked like, but now it's like finding a long lost brother."

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