A TREGARON man whose life was saved by his mum donating a kidney after his stopped working aged just 21 has supported a call for more people in Wales to sign up to become a living donor.

Lewis Evans, 24, moved from Tregaron to Cardiff in 2015, and two months later suddenly started to suffer terrible sickness.

Following tests, he was shocked to be diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

The diagnosis “completely changed his life”, leaving him undergoing dialysis three times a week for nearly two years.

“I was really fit and healthy pretty much right up to my diagnosis, so it came as a complete shock to both myself and my family when I was told that my kidneys had stopped working and that I needed a kidney transplant,” Lewis said.

“I was put on dialysis straight away for four hours a day, then it was reduced to three times a week.

“I carried on working because I didn’t want it to completely take over my life and I felt like I was in control of the illness, but it was extremely difficult.

“Everything I did had to revolve around my treatment, it was really difficult and impacted on everything I wanted to do.”

Lewis said that after it became clear he needed a new kidney, his family members were all tested as possible living donors.

“I was extremely lucky that my mum and my sister were both matches,” he said.

See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now