RICHARD PITMAN, HORSE Racing commentator with the BBC, is recovering at home after he donated a kidney to a complete stranger.
The kind hearted former jockey underwent surgery last weekend in Oxford, with doctors telling him he could be back to work by the end of the month.
While the 69-year-old Pitman has been given no details about who has received his kidney, he has been told that it was successfully transplanted.
“I feel great,” he is quoted as saying in the Daily Mail.
“I feel it was worthwhile and I feel strong. I am pleased I did it for that reason and I am pleased it worked.
“There are risks, but they point them out to you and keep telling you right up until the anaesthetic that you can pull out at any point. It is medicine that saves people’s lives, but I have done my small part in a big team.”
Pitman says he was motivated to donate the kidney after watching a close friend of his, Tim Gibson, almost die two years ago before undergoing a transplant.
“I was watching him dying in front of my eyes and I have since seen him blossom. He went from dropping off to absolutely zinging,” Pitman said.
“Not knowing who will receive the kidney doesn’t bother me. I just want to help anyone who was suffering like Tim was.”
