JASON Kidd was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease when he was only 28.

Six years later, at the age of 34, he was changing nappies after the birth of his second child, Dylan, when he suffered life-threatening renal failure.

Until that time, he says, he remembered only the dates of his wedding anniversary and family birthdays, but June 27, 2011, is now firmly on his list of significant dates… It was the day his wife, Cathy, gave him a kidney and the gift of life.

Kidney disease can strike at any time of life, and more than 37,800 adult patients are believed to be receiving renal replacement therapy in the UK, according to Kidney Research UK.

Most patients suffer a mild form of kidney disease, but this can still put them at risk of cardiovascular problems, such as stroke and heart disease.

A small but significant number, like Jason, develop life-threatening kidney failure, which requires treatment through dialysis or a transplant.

Jason and Cathy’s operations took place just seven months after Dylan was born.

Cathy was carefully screened to assess her suitability, and received regular check-ups to ensure that both she and Jason could return to the active lives they had enjoyed, including taking care of Dylan and his big sister Eve.

Jason said: “The operation was a culmination of what had been a nervous year for us, anticipating what post-transplant life would be like. What’s even more amazing about Cathy’s gift to me was that it came just seven months after the birth of our second child.”

Although Jason’s story has a happy ending, about 7,000 people in the UK are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, according to the Department of Health, and 300 will die this year as they wait for a suitable donor.

Jason said: “The phrase ‘life-changing’ is often over-used, but since the transplant operation I have regained so much of the energy I had lost. I’m now able to lead a full and active life, with renewed vigour.”

Now a member of the West London Kidney Patients’ Association, which represents more than 2,000 patients across 10 hospitals in west London, Jason is getting involved in a global day of action to raise awareness of kidney disease and the organ donor register.

On Thursday a series of awareness stands will be set up in the renal and transplant centre in Hammersmith Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital’s first floor restaurant and Ealing Hospital’s main entrance.

In addition, the association has organised a live web chat between noon and 1pm and Jason will be available to answer questions about living with kidney disease and share his experience of going through a transplant.

Leading renal transplant surgeon Vassilios Papalois will give further insights into kidney disease, transplant and dialysis treatments, and to the Imperial Kidney Fund charity.

With only 29 per cent of the UK population signed up to the organ donor register, it is hoped that World Kidney Day will encourage more of us to sign up, so that more people like Jason can get the transplant they desperately need.