A man who has had four kidney transplants says he would like see more young people receiving donor organs.

Although Paul Mickleburgh from Aberdeen is now on dialysis, he says having the transplants changed his life and wants the donor system to be revised.

Paul must travel to the dialysis unit in Inverurie three times a week for the treatment that keeps him alive.

He said: "The nurse will put me on. The machine cleans my blood and puts it back into me. And then I wait for five hours.”

As well as suffering complete renal failure at the age of 19, 50-year-old Paul has also had ten heart attacks, cancer and pneumonia.

He has recently been told that he has been taken off the waiting list for what would be his fifth kidney transplant.

He added: "Everyday you come and there is no change to this (dialysis), there is no other option but this.
“It is difficult to go away or arrange holidays, you can't decide to go anywhere on the spur of the moment, it has got to be organised and planned."

Although Paul will remain on dialysis for the remainder of his life, he says having the transplants as a young man changed his life by allowing him to have children.

Paul’s son Wayne Mickleburgh said: "Before I was born, he didn't think he would live to see my fifth birthday and he didn't think he would live to see us go to the academy and he didn't think he would live to see us all grow up to this age. 

“Now he has set himself the target to see us all married and all that."

Paul said: “It’s so nice to see people come in here and they have had a little baby - it has changed their life”.

Paul says he would like to see the donor system revised so that people have to opt out, rather than opt in.

And despite his health worries, he says he is looking forward to celebrating his silver wedding anniversary next year.