Richard’s first time seeing himself in life about his lifesaving transplant, 40 years on

A transplant recipient has seen himself in a public information film for the first time since it was filmed more than 40 years ago.

Richard Ayres from Bognor Regis was in a half-hour documentary about the organ donation system.

The 66-year-old has enjoyed a full life and is now enjoying retirement thanks to the kidney transplant and the generosity of the donor family.

Richard was filmed by the Central Office of Information jogging around a running track to show how healthy people can be thanks to transplants, in a wider hard-hitting film about the need for donors.

And he was shown taking part in a radio phone-in about transplants at BBC Radio Solent.

Towards a better life

The film was 'Towards a better life - A gift of life', which was produced by a scientific division of the Central Information Office in the early 1980s.

"I'm surprised to see how fit and youthful I was," laughed Richard.

"I remember doing the interview but I don’t think I ever saw the final film – it’s so amusing to see it.

"I remember doing the interview in Southampton with BBC South and feeling nervous.

"The style of documentaries has changed so much since then, it was very sober and informative."

The film explores medicine and public attitudes, featuring interviews with people on dialysis experiencing kidney failure, the family of an organ donor, and the work of the national organ matching team in Bristol.

At the time, there were around 1,000 transplants a year and around 2,500 people on the waiting list – today more than 4,500 transplants are carried out a year and around 8,000 people are on the waiting list.

Richard's story

Richard had kidney failure of unknown cause. He had two transplants and was filmed a couple of years after the second, which was in 1980. The famous transplant surgeon Dr Maurice Slapak of St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth performed Richard's first transplant and and oversaw the second - Dr Slapak was the founder of the transplant games.

Richard went on to work for 35 years in local Government, completed a Master's Degree, sailed around the world in the 1989 Fastnet race as part of a transplant team, and sailed around the UK.

"I feel incredibly grateful to have had the transplants," said Richard. "I celebrate the anniversary every year and most importantly think of the donor family who in their hours of pain and loss gave a number of people the gift of life."

He added: "The doctors don't really know exactly why some transplants last and others don't.

"But I'm lucky to still have mine. It has allowed me the freedom and choice to live and continue live a fulfilling life with no constraints. In my day, home dialysis was nine hours twice a week and many people never received the transplant they needed.

"Transplants are not a cure and you do have health complications. But I've had the chance to live a full life, to travel to many places, eat and drink what I like - it is impossible to live a normal life on dialysis. I'm very grateful and I'd ask people to support organ donation – you could change someone's life like mine was changed."

Chris Callaghan, a consultant kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon and NHS Blood and Transplant's clinical lead for organ utilisation, said:

"Richard's story shows the power of organ donation – he has lead a full life and can look back at himself as a young transplant recipient 40 years ago.

"Sadly, as was the case in the 1980s, people still die every day in need of a transplant. Please support donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register and tell your families you want to save lives through donation."

How you can help

To find out more, and confirm your support for organ donation, confirm your decision through our website, call 0300 123 23 23 or use the NHS app.