When Filipinas Nercua could not donate a kidney directly to her husband, she gave one to a stranger instead, on the same day he received his own transplant.

Filipinas, then 50, volunteered to donate a kidney to her husband, Cesar, after polycystic kidney disease and diabetes left him needing a transplant. But tests found her kidney was incompatible because they have different blood groups.

A different donor match was found for Cesar. On the same day as his transplant, Filipinas underwent surgery to donate her own kidney to a stranger to “pass on the kindness.”

Both surgeries took place at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, where Filipinas works as a nurse. The same surgeon carried out both operations on the same day.

“I saw the way Cesar was suffering because he needed a new kidney ,” she said.

“Watching him decline was so hard that deciding to donate my kidney to someone else was made easy.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else going through what Cesar was going through.”

Cesar, then 51, is a healthcare assistant at another trust and had been living with polycystic kidney disease and diabetes for many years. Over time, his kidney function gradually deteriorated.

“He became breathless, and we couldn’t even go on walks together anymore,” Filipinas said.

She was told she could still donate her kidney to someone who shared her blood group.

Filipinas, a mother of three who has been married to Cesar for 27 years, said: “I donated my kidney in the morning and Cesar received his new kidney that afternoon, so we were both cared for in St. George’s at the same time.

“Our family back in the Philippines were really worried about us, as were our three children, because they had their parents in the same hospital at the same time, but we were fine.”

Filipinas was discharged three days after surgery and Cesar after a week. Both have made a full recovery.

“The difference since he’s had his transplant is shocking,” Filipinas said.

“We can do so much more now and enjoy our long walks.”

The transplants in October 2023 were made possible through the NHS Kidney Sharing Scheme, which is run by NHS Blood and Transplant. The scheme helps people receive a kidney transplant when a willing donor is not a direct match.

Normally, a living donor gives a kidney to someone they know, but when they are not compatible the scheme matches pairs in the same situation with others across the United Kingdom.

There is a record high of more than 8,200 people waiting for an organ transplant, with 6,500 of those waiting for a kidney, according to NHS Blood and Transplant.

Filipinas said: “We were close already but this has definitely brought us closer.

“I didn’t only give Cesar my heart, I gave him a kidney too, in a roundabout way.

“There’s a stranger out there who has given Cesar a new lease of life and, in turn, I have also given a different stranger a new lease of life.

“I would urge more people to sign up to the scheme, it’s a great way of passing the kindness on.”

Dr Abbas Ghazanfar, who performed both operations, said: “At St. George’s, we regularly participate in the scheme to help our patients receive a compatible kidney through a living kidney transplant.

“Filipinas is an incredible and kind person. She donated her kidney to a stranger in exchange for getting a kidney back for her husband.

“It was a meticulous process involving three centers, resulting in three successful kidney transplants and saving three lives.”

In the UK, 964 adult living-donor kidney transplants took place in 2024 to 2025, with 125 through the UK Living Kidney Sharing Scheme.

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