Former champion jockey Richard Pitman has donated one of his kidneys to a stranger because his close friend’s life was saved through a kidney transplant
Pitman, who won 470 races in a spectacular 15-year career, had the surgery to remove his kidney early in February 2012.
The 69-year-old is not legally allowed to know who the recipient of his kidney was, however, he has been told his organ was successfully transplanted.
The sportsman had four months of tests in order to donate, after seeing the recovery of his 61-year-old friend, Tim Gibson, who had a donation two years ago.
Mr Pitman said: “I was watching him dying in front of my eyes and I have since seen him blossom. He went from dropping off to absolutely zinging.”
