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PHOTO CAPTION: With your help, our brilliant doctors, nurses and researchers can continue their life-saving work.

We would like to say a massive thank you to all the generous Radio 4 listeners who donated to our appeal. Thanks to your support we raised an amazing £21, 507.

Kidney disease can affect anyone – you, your dad, your best friend, your children… even football legends like Andy Cole. Every day, around 20 people in the UK will develop kidney failure. In Andy’s case a virus he caught on a work trip in Vietnam made his kidneys fail, but kidney disease can be genetic or caused by conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. If kidney disease goes undetected or can’t be treated effectively, it can lead to kidney failure.

Andy received a kidney from his nephew after his kidney function plummeted to 7%. He presented our Radio 4 appeal as he knows that as great as a transplant is, it’s not a cure and life post-transplant can be emotionally tough. Endless medication, the worry of organ rejection and mentally adjusting to this ‘new normal’ is exhausting. Every morning he wakes up and worries his kidney might fail.

Andy set up the Andy Cole Fund with Kidney Research UK to help people like him living with kidney disease. The Fund invests in vital research into kidney transplants and the best ways to support kidney patients’ mental health and wellbeing. The money we’ve raised from the Radio 4 appeal will fund research to understand more about the impact kidney disease has on mental health which will help inform future research projects in this area.

Thank you again for your support.

Find out more about the Andy Cole Fund .