'I feel like I've been given four lives': Father is among first to receive THREE kidney transplants from his OWN family



Andy Knox went into renal failure when he was 25 years old

He was put on the transplant list and told without treatment he could die

In 1998 his mother Teresa stepped in donating her kidney for his first op

Eight years later it failed and Mr Knox's father Freddie volunteered to help

Last year the 42-year-old's second donated kidney also failed

Sister Helen, 33, was found to be a 100 per cent match



Two weeks ago the siblings went into Royal Liverpool Hospital for third op

Father-of-one Mr Knox said he feels 'rejuvenated' thanking his family



When his kidneys began to fail at the age of 25, Andy Knox faced a lifetime hooked up to a dialysis machine.

He was put on to the transplant list but warned he would have to undergo dialysis for six months before he was deemed eligible for a new organ.

In those six months if he received no treatment at all M,r Knox was warned his renal failure would claim his life.

Determined not to watch their son deteriorate in front of their eyes, the now 42-year-old's parents Freddie and Teresa, stepped in.

Andy Knox (bottom left) is believed to be among a handful of people in the world to have received three kidney transplants from his mother Teresa (bottom right), father Freddie (top right) and sister Helen (top left)

They put themselves forward to be tested to see if they were a match - and remarkably, both parents were told they could save their son.



It was Mrs Knox, 63, who insisted on joining her son in the operating theatre, donating her kidney, in what appeared to be a successful transplant operation.



But after more than 50 hospital visits in the next eight years, the organ began to fail.

In 2006 Mr Knox returned to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital for transplant number two.



This time it was his father, Freddie, 67, who stepped in to help, donating one of his kidneys.

Again the success of the transplant operation was short-lived, when last year - seven years after receiving his father's kidney - Mr Knox faced another failing organ.

He was forced to go back on dialysis and appeared to be running out of options when his sister Helen, 33, said she wanted to help.

The nursery manager underwent the relevant tests, which revealed she was a 100 per cent match.

Two weeks ago the siblings were admitted to the Royal Liverpool where surgeons carried out Mr Knox's third transplant.

The father-of-one today said he feels 'rejuvenated' and is looking forward to getting his life back on track after years of uncertainty and treatment.

Mr Knox, whose son Bailey is 15, said: ' In the space of two weeks I had gone from being on top of the world to being told I may only have six months to live.

The 42-year-old's first operation took place at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in 1998 when he was 25 years old. Eight years later he had the second procedure, when father Freddie donated one of his kidneys

'Without a matching donor I faced life on dialysis. But I was extremely fortunate because mum and dad had tests and were both matches for me.

'You have to take a lot of drugs to stop your body rejecting the kidney but they suppress your immune system, which leaves you at risk of infection.

'It is a fine balancing act, and I was just unlucky. The air smells cleaner and food tastes good again.

'I have a real feeling of rejuvenation and it feels like I've been given four lives.

'Mum, dad and Helen have all put their own lives at risk to make my life more comfortable and I will be forever grateful for that.



'Mum, dad and Helen have all put their own lives at risk to make my life more comfortable and I will be forever grateful for that' - Transplant patient Andy Knox

'They can see that I am not taking it for granted by keeping myself fit and active. Some people can be dialysis for 10 or 20 years and never get a donor.

'Some eventually get one from a stranger, which is great for them but the added benefit I have is that I can thank my mum, dad and Helen every day.'

After his first transplant, Mr Knox took up a voluntary committee management role for Transplant Sport UK.

He won two silver medals at the World Transplant Games in Australia where he was captain of the UK's tennis team.

He has also won medals at the Games in Thailand in 2007, Australia 2009 and Sweden 2011.

Mr Knox said: 'The games are a way for people like me to show everyone that since having a transplant, we have not just sat at home and rested on our laurels.

'It shows that we want to make the most of what we've been given.

Two weeks ago Mr Knox and his sister Helen (pictured) underwent his third transplant. He said he feels 'rejuvenated', and thanked his family for stepping in when he needed their help

'My son Bailey was born a year after my first transplant so he's grown up knowing that I need a lot of treatment.

'He's still in school but he's a bright lad and just like the rest of my family he's very supportive.

'People I've met have said it's quite uncommon for people to have that many transplants at all, let alone all from their own family.

'The odds would have been incredible.

'Everyone we spoke to at the hospital said it was very rare to have three kidneys donated all from family members.

'It really does feel like I've had a new lease of life again, not for the first time, so I'm massively grateful to my family and all of the medical staff who have helped me.'

Abdul Hammad, a consultant transplant surgeon at the hospital, said: 'We have seen many cases where a person has two or even three transplants.

'But Andrew is the first we have treated who has been fortunate enough to find three matches in his own family.