Father gives a kidney to save his son, three

But Dominic Carney's father Steven has made a bigger sacrifice than most parents have to.

Steven Carney, 51, has given his three-year-old son one of his kidneys to keep him alive.

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Tests showed he was a perfect match and underwent the transplant to save Dominic from the dialysis needed to counter chronic kidney failure.

"Just seeing him happy shows me it was worth every minute of pain," said Mr Carney.

"It is a big thing to have any major operation and transplant a kidney but when it's your son, you would do anything to save his life."

Dominic, whose kidneys failed to develop properly in the womb, has suffered renal problems since birth.

He was only weeks away from needing gruelling dialysis to keep him alive when the transplant was carried out in January.

After three weeks in hospital, he has been recovering at home in Gomersal, West Yorkshire, with his parents and eight-year-old brother Oliver.

His new kidney is already functioning properly, making him like 'a new child', said his mother Rosalba, 39.

"Before he had no energy and was quiet, now he's constantly demanding attention," she said.

Mr Carney added: "There is no doubt Dominic understands what has gone on. I've even joked that I want my kidney back and he says it's his now."

Dominic's health problems began at birth with a collapsed lung. "He was rushed to intensive care as soon as he was born," said his mother. "It was touch and go.

"He had an operation on the valves that lead from the kidneys. It was then we realised this was something long-term and quite frightening."

Dominic has posterior urethral valves, a condition only found in boys which affects one in 8,000 births.

A blockage in the urethra, the tube through which urine passes, pushed the liquid back into the kidneys, causing irreparable damage.

Dominic spent most of his time in and out of hospital with infections, leading his father to give up his job as an HGV driver to look after him.

But when the little boy's condition deteriorated last October, he was put on the organ transplant list.

His mother, an office administrator, was ruled out as she was the wrong blood group but her husband was a match and the transplant went ahead at St James's Hospital, Leeds.

Mrs Carney said: "They warned us that there may be a bulge as Steven's kidney was so much larger.

"Apparently it is normal for children to develop a distended abdomen after receiving a kidney from an adult, but luckily that has not happened.

"The doctors are amazed at how well his body has accommodated it."

Dominic is now looking forward to returning to nursery after spending three months in virtual isolation to prevent infection.

His mother said: "We have to be careful as he's still very vulnerable. It's been hard on him as he misses nursery - he's chatty and sociable."

Consultant paediatric nephrologist Dr Maggie Fitzpatrick said: "Despite what he has been through, Dominic is doing exceptionally well."