My dad gave me a kidney - now I can have my dream wedding

Kieran Innes was just 25 when he was diagnosed with kidney failure and told he would need dialysis three times a week.

He was devastated and worried that he would have to curtail plans of a dream wedding and honeymoon with fiancée Lara Russell.

Two years later his future has been transformed thanks to his kidney donor - his 63-year-old dad Brian.

"This has 100% made our bond stronger, I feel forever like I owe him," said Kieran. "Everything I'm able to do now is because of him and I have no worries any more."

The couple are due to tie the knot in Uphall, West Lothian, next month before jetting off on a "minimoon" to New York, followed by a honeymoon in Italy in October.

"Things would be a lot different had I still been on dialysis," the 27-year-old pizza chef said.

"We were planning the wedding anyway but things would have been a lot different had I still been on dialysis and the honeymoon would have been a bit of a disaster to plan.

"You can do it but it involves the NHS arranging for dialysis in another country, which is incredible that they can do that, but would have been very difficult."

Kieran began feeling very unwell when he was on a family holiday in Cullen, Moray, in July 2022.

In St John's Hospital in Livingston the following day, he was told his blood pressure was "through the roof".

Six weeks later, medics said his kidneys were failing. He was fitted with a stent in his chest and he was put on dialysis.

Kieran "absolutely hated" having the stent. It made showering difficult because it was not to get wet and he feared catching it on his clothing and bed sheets.

He was put on the waiting list for a kidney but was warned that it could take a very long time.

So his fiancée, Lara, 29, asked both their families for a live kidney donation.

"That was something I was petrified about, I don't know how to approach that kind of thing but I had a lot of help from my fiancée, she was really forward in helping me ask," Kieran said.

Eight people came forward to offer their kidney including Lara's dad and Kieran's brother and sister.

However, Kieran's dad was the one the hospital chose to go forward with the operation in March 2024.

When Brian woke up after the surgery he felt "relieved" and immediately asked if his son was well.

"Kieran's life is back to normal now and he's back working," Brian said.

"He wouldn't be able to go straight to New York after the wedding [without the transplant].

"It's definitely brought us closer together. He's always hugging me now and he arranged a trip for us to go away together earlier this year as a thank you.

"I'm proud of what I did. I'm sure anyone would do that for their kids."