A MALVERN man who donated a vital organ to give his wife the chance of a normal life has spoken of their disappointment that it has all been in vain.

Christopher Osborne underwent major surgery in November in the hope it would free his wife Trudie from dependency on dialysis.

During operations that lasted several hours at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital one of his kidneys was transplanted into her body.

But the couple's hopes were dashed when they were told drugs used to suppress her body's rejection of the organ had not worked, and it would have to be removed.

Mrs Osborne has suffered from kidney infections since she was born, and has to undergo continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, meaning she spends eight hours a night attached to a machine.

She has to carefully regulate her diet, has been prevented from going abroad on holiday and must suffer regular hospital trips, tiredness and pain.

Had the operation been a success the couple, who both work at Reality in Worcester and have been married for 15 years, were considering a trip to Florida with their two children.

Mr Osborne said they were disappointed by what had happened, but had always known there were no guarantees it would work.

"We knew it was 50-50, but we had to try it," he said.

He added they had come to terms with their disappointment over the Christmas period and will now go back to hoping a suitable donor will come forward.

They will not try to transfer any of their family's kidneys.

"She doesn't want to put her family through what I went through," he explained.

He said his wife had been allowed to come back to their Wedderburn Road home to spend Christmas with their young family, but has since had to return to hospital.