WHEN people celebrate a 10th anniversary it's usually to remember a wedding or birth, but today two sisters are marking an important chapter in their lives - the day one donated a kidney to the other and changed their lives forever.

On March 9, 2006 Nicola Mulroy underwent an operation to give her then 23-year-old sister Lucy, who faced a lifetime of dialysis, one of her kidneys.

The hairdresser will never forget the incredible gift of life as she had two years previously gone into renal failure, having been diagnosed with Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare condition where a person's antibodies attack the membrane in the kidneys.

Now, a decade after going under the knife at the Manchester Royal Infirmary the sisters have recalled their unforgettable experience.

Nicola, 35, of Dalton, said: "I just wanted to give Lucy her life back. There wasn't anything to think about.

"They said there wouldn't be any problems. There hasn't been. I've had a little girl since.

"I'd do it all again but I can't obviously - I've only got one kidney myself."

The only side effects for Nicola was a six-day stay in hospital to recover after the operation and some scarring.

The change for Lucy, however, has been enormous. She no longer needs to visit the renal unit at Kendal three times a week. And the kidney has a lifespan of around 30 to 40 years.

Life-changing

Lucy, who lives in Barrow, said: "For me everything's completely changed.

"I went into renal failure. I was coughing up blood. I was in hospital for six months.

"Now it's completely different."

When Lucy was diagnosed, her older sisters Nicola and Victoria, 38, were found to be perfect kidney matches.

As Victoria was due up walk down the aisle just a few months after the would-be operation, Nicola, who works at Swinton Insurance, offered to undergo the procedure instead.

Lucy said: "Nicola stepped in without a doubt.

"There's six boxes to tick to be a match and Nicola meet all six.

"The doctors thought we were twins because the kidney was such a perfect match."

Both sisters were well enough to be bridesmaids for Victoria's wedding in July 2006 and their bond has only strengthened because of the organ transplant.

Lucy said: "We were always close but it's made us a lot closer.

"You realise you don't know what's around the corner."

Donation facts

Kidneys are the most common organ donated by a living person.

About a third of all kidney transplants carried out in the UK are from living donors.

A healthy person can lead a normal life with one working kidney.

In the UK living kidney transplants have been performed since 1960 and currently around 1,100 such operations are performed each year, with a very high success rate.

There are currently more than 5,000 people in UK with kidney disease who are on the National Transplant List in need of a kidney.