Tipton volunteer: I gave a kidney to save childhood sweetheart
As a police volunteer she's certainly used to dealing with life and death situations. But special constable Melinda Hann went one step further when she saved the life of her husband – by giving him one of her kidneys.
Childhood sweetheart Shaun was seriously ill and his kidneys were working at just 14 per cent of their normal function. The pair were confirmed as a donor match and Mrs Hann, aged 39 and from Tipton, had no qualms about stepping in to give her 41-year-old husband the gift of life.
"It was awful to see the man you love, the father of your children, withering away in front of you," she said.
Mrs Hann joined Sandwell police specials in 2006 and after the operation was back out on the beat four months later.
She explained how her husband – a keen marathon runner – came home from a job with a nose bleed that wouldn't stop.
"He had very high blood pressure and after tests, scans and a biopsy he was diagnosed with IgA Neuropathy," she said.
"Both his kidneys were small and not working properly; we knew one day he'd need either dialysis or a transplant."
In May 2011 the couple were told that Mr Hann would die if he didn't have a kidney transplant. He was placed on the donor transplant list for a new kidney to keep him alive. But after one operation fell through Mrs Hann made the brave decision to put herself forward.
Mrs Hann added: "One donor came up but Shaun's body was too ill for the operation. However, weeks later I was confirmed as a match donor and in December 2011 the operation went ahead. I didn't get to see Shaun for three days but when I did, his eyes were sparkling and bright, not yellow, and he had colour in his cheeks."
Last week was national Transplant Week, which aimed to highlight the dearth of people on the donor list. Patients are having to wait years for operations to replace organs.
More than 96 per cent of people believe donating organs is right, but only 30 per cent are on the register and there are 7,500 people waiting for an organ transplant. Three people die every day waiting on the transplant list and more than 40 per cent of families refuse to donate loved one's organs because they are not told of their wishes.
Mrs Hann is now back at work and said the support from her colleagues had helped in her and her husband's ordeal.
She added: "Our family and friends, including my colleagues in the police specials, have been a great support. I wanted to get back onto specials duty as soon as possible; after a personal safety refresher course in March I was back on the beat in April."
Since returning to specials duty, mother of two Mrs Hann has been helping with drugs raids as well as tackling uninsured and banned drivers.
She said: "Many volunteering roles can be quite passive but with the police specials you play an active role alongside full-time officers. The work is really varied, interesting and you come away from each shift feeling you've made a difference."
