A South Wales knitting group is on a mission with a difference – making 281 wool & felt kidneys, one for every person in Wales currently waiting for a kidney transplant.
The project has been organised by Carolyn Thomas from Efail Isaf (near Llantwit Fardre, Rhondda Cynon Taf), and is inspired by her son Dan, 25. After contracting meningitis in 2020, Dan was left with chronic kidney disease. His kidney filtration rate is now just 18 — a healthy rate for someone his age would be over 100, with anything under 18 considered ‘severely reduced’. His consultant wants a transplant before dialysis becomes necessary, but no suitable match has yet been found.
In May, Carolyn will take the handmade kidneys with her and her team of friends & family on the National Three Peaks Challenge. (last year they carried 180 litres of ‘blood’ across the Welsh 3 Peaks) They will be giving them to fellow hikers in Scotland, England and Wales to spark conversations about organ and kidney donation.
Carolyn has also launched ‘One’s Enough’ — a new website and social media campaign. The aim is to raise awareness around living organ donation and to highlight the fact that people can live full, healthy lives with just one kidney if they were to donate – quite literally – ‘One’s Enough’
The website is also reinforcing the vital message regarding organ donation in general that registering as a donor and talking to your family about your wishes could save someone like Dan.
Carolyn Thomas said:
“Dan is the most amazing person you’ll ever meet — you wouldn’t know anything was wrong with him. But the reality is that his kidney function is critically low, and we don’t know whether he’ll need a transplant in six months or a year. As his mum, feeling helpless is the hardest thing in the world.
“When we found out I couldn’t donate because of my cancer history, and that none of Dan’s friends were a match either, I felt that I had to do something to try and highlight the situation of the people on the transplant waiting list. In many cases waiting months or years for a chance to re-start living.. That’s why as a family (Dan’s Nan is a Yarnmonger) and friends we are making 281 kidneys and carrying them up three mountains — because every single one of those kidneys represents a real person, who is waiting.
“So many people don’t realise you can donate a kidney and live a completely normal life with one kidney. It’s certainly not for everyone but the more people who know about living donation the more likely we are to be able to find those amazing people out there.
People also don’t know that families still have the power to override donation even under Wales’s opt-out system. Talking to your loved ones about your wishes could be the difference between life and death for someone like Dan. Organ donation is the greatest gift someone can ever give – and I want as many people as possible to consider giving it.”
– There are currently 281 people in Wales waiting for a kidney transplant, 371 people in Wales waiting for all organs combined. Source: NHSBT
https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/about-organ-donation/statistics-about-organ-donation/
– In Wales, adults who have lived in the country for more than 12 months are considered organ donors unless they opt out – but families retain the power to refuse donation if their loved one did not explicitly register their wishes, which is why registering and having the conversation with family remains vital
– If adults haven’t registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register, only around 50% of families currently support organ donation after death, often due to uncertainty about their loved one’s wishes.
– The One’s Enough Three Peaks Challenge takes place on May 22/23rd
– One’s Enough can be found at
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