Daughter saves ill father in cross-country kidney swap - with couple they had never met

But without a family match, strangers Donald Planner and Margaret Wearn instead entered into an extraordinary pact.

Mr Planner's daughter donated her kidney to Mrs Wearn, whose husband gave his kidney to Mr Planner.

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Fresh start (from left-to-right): Suzanne Wills with her father Donald Planner; and Margaret Wearn with husband Roger, 56

The operations took place 170 miles apart in synchronised procedures with the organs transported by ambulances travelling in opposite directions between the two hospitals.

Now the two families hope to meet to express their mutual gratitude for the swap.

It was made possible by legislation introduced last year by the Human Tissue Authority.

Before the ruling, living donors were allowed to give kidneys only to those who were "genetically or emotionally related".

Now families across the country can register for kidney swaps with unknown people to help save their relatives' lives.

The Wearns and the Planners are only the second group to take part in the exchange and the first to speak publicly about their experience.

Mr Planner, 61, of St Austell, Cornwall, said yesterday: "I think the whole situation is completely amazing - I'm blown away with gratitude to my wonderful daughter and the other couple."

Father-of-five Mr Planner, a retired engineer, had been dependant on renal dialysis for eight months prior to the swap.

He desperately needed a new organ or he would die.

His daughter Suzanne Wills, 43, a mother of two, was willing to donate a kidney but could not because she has a different blood group.

She said: "When we heard about the new legislation, we decided to go for it."

By using a national database of pairs seeking kidneys, the Planners were able to track down a couple in a similar situation.

Roger Wearn, 56, a finance director from Portsmouth, wanted to donate a kidney to his wife Margaret, also 56, but his tissue did not match hers.

He welcomed the paired donation programme as a way of helping his wife.

He said: "For me, this was no different from giving a kidney to Margaret directly.

"She was heavily reliant on the dialysis machine, which she had to go on for about nine hours every night as well as taking a lot of medication."

The simultaneous operations took place in October at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, and Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.

The two families did not know each other's identities at that stage but sent cards with the kidneys, wishing each other well.

The card from the Wearns read: "Thank you for joining us in this great opportunity to improve the quality of all of our lives.

"With our love and best wishes for a brighter future. From your friends in Portsmouth."

The note from Suzanne said: "To donor B, thank you so much. Good luck. Love donor A."

There are currently 40 families registered on the kidney paired programme and the Human Tissue Authority predicts that about 50 such kidney swaps can be carried out annually.