A COUPLE say they are are now “stronger than ever” after a husband donated a kidney to save his spouse’s life.

The Dinas Powys pair have now held a recent fundraiser to thank the charity who supported them.

Tony Caley-Burnell has been in a relationship with his husband Steve for nearly 30 years.

He said he was devastated after they found out that Steve was in desperate need of a kidney transplant in 2017.

Mr Caley-Burnell - who is an active member of Barry-based amateur dramatics company Billboard Ensemble - knew that Steve had polycystic kidney disease but was shocked when he found out that the illness had moved to Stage 4 and the time had come to start planning the move to dialysis.

Polycystic kidney disease is where kidneys have cysts or growths in them which mean that over time the kidneys will fail. There is no current cure for the disease and it is monitored until there is an eventual need for a transplant or dialysis.

“It was hard, upsetting and frustrating dealing with an illness for which there is no cure,” said Mr Caley-Burnell. “There was nothing I could do. I felt helpless and upset that I could only watch Steve getting ill.”

However, after blood tests, it was found that Mr Caley-Burnell was the same blood type as his husband and he said he “jumped at the chance” to donate one of his kidneys.

“I felt so thankful, grateful and relieved to be able to do this for Steve and for us both,” he said.

“It was emotional but I honestly wasn’t scared or worried. Staff at the hospital and clinic were brilliant and we had every faith in them.”

The transplant was successful and the couple now say that life is back to normal for them. And their group Billboard Ensemble also recently held a fundraising event at their base for Kidney Wales, who the couple say supported them throughout their journey.

The 52-year-old said: “Being in billboard is fantastic, we’ve made so many friends as the company really is like a family. It helps us both to keep feeling young, by mixing and having friends much younger than us.

“On the night more than £1,500 was raised through cake sales, raffles, prize draws, games and tea. A brilliant evening was had by all.”