{"id":161267,"date":"2026-03-11T13:02:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/?p=161267"},"modified":"2026-03-12T16:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:54:13","slug":"mums-kidney-transplant-gift-spurs-on-london-marathon-runner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/2026\/03\/11\/mums-kidney-transplant-gift-spurs-on-london-marathon-runner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mum\u2019s kidney transplant gift spurs on London Marathon runner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\n\t<p>A kidney transplant recipient from Edinburgh will run the TCS London Marathon this April, powered by the kidney donated by his mum 12 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jonny McGregor, 43,\u00a0received a kidney from his mum,\u00a0Eileen, in 2014 after\u00a0a shocking diagnosis that left him needing\u00a0life-restricting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/conditions-symptoms\/dialysis\/\">dialysis<\/a>. Now, he will complete the\u00a026.2 mile\u00a0route across London to\u00a0give others hope and\u00a0raise money that will support research into kidney disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jonny, who\u00a0works in Asset Management, says: &#8220;It was emotional to see how determined\u00a0Mum was to donate a kidney\u00a0when\u00a0I received my diagnosis in 2013.\u00a0It is\u00a0absolutely amazing,\u00a0what she has done for me.\u00a0The transplant\u00a0changed\u00a0my life. I was able to get married\u00a0to my wife,\u00a0Kathryn, the following year\u00a0and then have our\u00a0two children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was all made possible by Mum.\u00a0She has always been there for me.\u00a0She is doing great and\u00a0you&#8217;d\u00a0have no idea she is living with one kidney.\u00a0I want to share my story to give others hope. Having kidney disease is\u00a0awful, but life can get better.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0amazing to think you can still run marathons after a kidney transplant.&#8221;<\/p>\n\t<h2>Surprising diagnosis<\/h2>\n<p>When Jonny turned 30 in 2013, the idea that he would need dialysis treatment just a few months later was unfathomable. \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Edin-Half-2016.jpg\" alt=\"Son and mum, with arms round each other in the garden\" height=\"1600\" width=\"1200\" title=\"Jonny McGregor\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Edin-Half-2016.jpg\" alt=\"Son and mum, with arms round each other in the garden\" height=\"1600\" width=\"1200\" title=\"Jonny McGregor\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/noscript>\n\t\t<figcaption>Jonny with his mum ahead of a half marathon<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<p>Jonny says: &#8220;Life was great. I kept myself really fit, played golf and football, loved to travel and enjoyed socialising with friends. I had no idea anything was wrong. That&#8217;s the thing with kidney disease, it can affect anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I only went to the GP because I began\u00a0having\u00a0headaches. I thought\u00a0maybe they\u00a0were migraines and\u00a0I\u00a0was advised to\u00a0take paracetamol.\u00a0When my health\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0improve, I\u00a0pushed for answers and\u00a0a quick test showed my blood pressure was through the roof. A blood test\u00a0then\u00a0found I had less than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/kidney-health-information\/stages-of-kidney-disease\/\">15% kidney function<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u00a0couldn&#8217;t\u00a0believe it when I got that\u00a0call.\u00a0I&#8217;d\u00a0just arrived home from playing football and was being told I needed to go to hospital with an overnight bag. I\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0feel unwell\u00a0and thought it must be some misunderstanding because of a freak blood test result. However, further tests\u00a0and a biopsy\u00a0confirmed the\u00a0worst.\u00a0I was diagnosed\u00a0with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/conditions-symptoms\/iga-nephropathy\/\">IgA nephropathy<\/a>.\u00a0It was surreal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In hindsight, there were subtle signs I was unwell\u00a0shortly\u00a0before my diagnosis. However, it was all easily explained away.\u00a0People often said I looked pale in photographs, but I thought I\u00a0just\u00a0lacked a suntan.\u00a0When I did come back from Thailand\u00a0after one trip, my ankles became really swollen\u00a0but I thought that was the result of sitting on a long flight.\u00a0I never imagined they were signs of kidney disease.&#8221;<\/p>\n\t<h2>The impact of dialysis\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Jonny&#8217;s kidney function was\u00a0monitored,\u00a0and it was\u00a0determined\u00a0he needed to begin dialysis\u00a0just\u00a0a few months later at the beginning of 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jonny says: &#8220;Having a tube inserted into my abdomen for dialysis freaked me out. Suddenly I felt like a patient.\u00a0Our spare room was covered in boxes of dialysis\u00a0equipment,\u00a0and I\u00a0had to\u00a0connect\u00a0myself\u00a0to a machine for ten hours every night to keep me alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I felt exhausted. I had to stop playing football and needed to leave social occasions early to give me enough time to dialyse before work the next day.\u00a0Dietary restrictions made it difficult to go to restaurants and\u00a0greatly affected\u00a0what I could eat.\u00a0I love crisps, they are my\u00a0Achilles heel, but I had to\u00a0drastically reduce my salt intake.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thankfully, I was still able to work and managed to do some exercise in the gym. The support I had from the renal team\u00a0was amazing, providing me with tasty low salt recipes and helping\u00a0my family\u00a0take a holiday to\u00a0Portugal by moving my dialysis equipment overseas. That was unbelievable and made\u00a0a huge difference\u00a0for us.&#8221;<\/p>\n\t<h2>How Mum changed my life<\/h2>\n<p>When it became clear Jonny would need a kidney transplant, his mum,\u00a0Eileen,<b>\u00a0<\/b>did not hesitate to put herself forward as his donor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jonny says:\u00a0&#8220;No matter what I said,\u00a0Mum was going to give me a kidney. There was no question about it. Now\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0a parent myself, I understand\u00a0the lengths\u00a0you&#8217;d\u00a0go to\u00a0for your children.\u00a0Naturally\u00a0I was worried about Mum, but the transplant team spent\u00a0lots of time with us to put our minds at ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The testing process took\u00a0ten\u00a0months, but knowing Mum was going to donate a kidney made my time on dialysis more bearable.\u00a0Some patients\u00a0are on\u00a0dialysis\u00a0for years before a kidney becomes available,\u00a0so I was grateful\u00a0that Mum made the wait for a transplant a lot shorter than it could have been.\u00a0<\/p>\n&#8220;On the day of the transplant, it was a big relief to find out Mum&#8217;s surgery had been successful before I\u00a0went\u00a0down to receive the kidney. We were treated on different wards, but I was\u00a0taken\u00a0in a wheelchair to see her the following day.<br \/>\n\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Hospital.jpg\" alt=\"Jonny, in a hospital bed with monitoring machines next to him\" height=\"1440\" width=\"1920\" title=\"Jonny McGregor\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Hospital.jpg\" alt=\"Jonny, in a hospital bed with monitoring machines next to him\" height=\"1440\" width=\"1920\" title=\"Jonny McGregor\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/noscript>\n\t\t<figcaption>Jonny in hospital<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<p>&#8220;I felt great. My face was full of\u00a0colour,\u00a0and I could start\u00a0eating normally without any dietary restrictions. The biggest challenge was having to significantly increase\u00a0the amount of water I was drinking after being fluid restricted on dialysis.\u00a0We were both discharged\u00a0within a\u00a0weekand\u00a0the transplant has been\u00a0really successful.\u00a0Mum recovered well and being a kidney donor\u00a0hasn&#8217;t\u00a0slowed her down at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The transplant meant\u00a0life could return to some normality\u00a0as I no longer needed dialysis.\u00a0I could eat more foods, travel\u00a0without my dialysis\u00a0machine\u00a0and get back into my sports. Most people\u00a0are surprised\u00a0now\u00a0when they hear\u00a0I&#8217;ve\u00a0had a transplant.\u00a0I make a conscious effort to stay as fit and healthy as possible, determined to make the most of what I can control.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A transplant is not a\u00a0cure ,\u00a0and I will always need to manage my illness. I have\u00a0regular hospital appointments and\u00a0take immunosuppressants every day to protect my kidney from rejection.\u00a0Transplanted kidneys\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0last forever, and in the back of my mind I know one day I will need another\u00a0donor.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Edin-half-2025.jpg\" alt=\"Jonny ready for a half marathon, wearing a running vest and number, with his two little children.\" height=\"1600\" width=\"1200\" title=\"Edin half 2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Edin-half-2025.jpg\" alt=\"Jonny ready for a half marathon, wearing a running vest and number, with his two little children.\" height=\"1600\" width=\"1200\" title=\"Edin half 2025\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/noscript>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h2>Running the London Marathon\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>On Sunday 26 April, Jonny will join more than\u00a050\u00a0runners\u00a0fundraising for Kidney Research UK at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/fundraising-events\/london-marathon\/\">TSC London Marathon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jonny says:\u00a0&#8220;It&#8217;s\u00a0an amazing opportunity to\u00a0push\u00a0myself while raising money for a cause close to my heart. I ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon for Kidney Research UK a decade ago, so thought it was time to take on a new challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Training has been going well but it is exhausting.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0expecting the crowds to be amazing\u00a0on the day, so hopefully everyone cheering us on will get me through it.\u00a0Even if I\u00a0have to\u00a0hobble over the finish line, I will get there!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Kathryn\u00a0and\u00a0our\u00a0two children\u00a0&#8211; Emily and Harry &#8211;\u00a0will be there supporting me on the day.\u00a0My Mum and Dad would have loved to have joined\u00a0them, but\u00a0won&#8217;t\u00a0be able to unfortunately.\u00a0I&#8217;ll\u00a0make sure to facetime Mum once I cross the finish line!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are so many different kidney diseases and areas to research, so I hope the money raised by everyone at the London Marathon will make a big difference.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\t<h2>Are you feeling inspired to fundraise?<\/h2>\n<p>Why not take part in your own sponsored event or run your own fundraiser. However you want to do it, we&#8217;re here to support you every step of the way.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/support\/fundraise\/\"  target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDo a fundraiser\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidneyresearchuk.org\/support\/events\/\"  target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTake part in an event\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A kidney transplant recipient from Edinburgh will run the TCS London Marathon this April, powered by the kidney donated by his mum 12 years ago.\u00a0 Jonny McGregor, 43,\u00a0received a kidney from his mum,\u00a0Eileen, in 2014 after\u00a0a shocking diagnosis that left him needing\u00a0life-restricting dialysis. Now, he will complete the\u00a026.2 mile\u00a0route across London to\u00a0give others hope and\u00a0raise&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mum\u2019s kidney transplant gift spurs on London Marathon runner - Kidney Research UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jonny McGregor received a kidney from his mum in 2014 after a shocking diagnosis that left him needing life-restricting dialysis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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