Lucy Humphrey, a 44-year-old Welshwoman from Caerphilly, received an astonishing stroke of luck when she met a kidney donor on the beach who was a perfect match, despite suffering from late-stage renal failure.
Humphrey has been battling lupus for her entire adult life, but in 2017, she was informed by her doctors that she had five years to find a new kidney or face the possibility of death.
As a result, Humphrey, who required kidney dialysis, and her partner Cenydd Owen had to cancel their campervan holiday plans and instead opted to drive to the beach to have a barbeque.
During their visit to the beach, one of their two Dobermans, named Indie, kept approaching another camper who was crocheting, causing a disturbance.
After the third time, Cenydd Owen went over to apologize to the camper, Katie James, who held no grudges against the dog or the owners. In fact, she joined their barbeque and began conversing with Lucy Humphrey.
During the conversation, James learned about Humphrey’s need for a kidney transplant and mentioned that she had recently joined the kidney donation register.
James offered her phone number to Humphrey, but Humphrey did not expect anything to come out of it, as she told the Daily Record.
Subsequent blood tests revealed that the two campers were a perfect match, which was an extraordinary event, with odds of 1-in-22 million, according to Humphrey.
The transplant was performed in October 2022, but Humphrey was required to stay in the hospital for four weeks due to James’ donated kidney not functioning at an optimal level quickly enough.
Following her recovery, Humphrey was finally able to embark on her planned campervan holiday, enjoy a drink with dinner, and participate in various other activities.
Humphrey expressed her profound gratitude towards James, saying, ““I’m so grateful for her… I told my partner in 2019 if I didn’t find a transplant within five years it was possible something would happen and I would die. I want this to be a message to other people not to give up hope.”
When James initially signed up to donate her kidney, she was informed that she would not receive any information on the outcome of the transplant or the identity of the recipient.
However, in this case, she learned that her donation saved Humphrey’s life and created a lasting friendship between the two.
This bond is evidenced by the “The Kidney Gang” address on the WhatsApp group chat they established, which includes James, Humphrey, and Owen.