Mother-of-three Suzi Macfarlane awoke today looking forward to a bright future after her husband gave her the ultimate gift of life.
Yesterday, Mrs Macfarlane, 43, underwent a seven-hour operation at the Churchill Hospital, in Oxford, to receive one of her husband John's kidneys.
The couple were in adjoining operating theatres during the delicate surgery.
After the operation, their three children and two grandchildren celebrated after hearing the transplant had been a success.
Their daughter Kylie Smith, 21, said: "We heard from the hospital that both operations had gone really well and we're hoping to see them both soon. We're all happy and relieved."
The Macfarlanes, of Gaisford Road, Cowley, first talked about live transplantation in October last year, when Mrs Macfarlane's kidneys began to fail.
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They were told the odds of 46-year-old Mr Macfarlane being a suitable match for his wife were slim - the best matches come from blood relatives - but they were thrilled when months of tests finally revealed they had tissue matches as well as blood matches, which is very rare.
Speaking at home before the operation, Mrs Macfarlane, a unit manager at Littlemore Hospital, said: "I found I had polycystic kidneys in 1990.
"Cysts grow on the kidneys and basically suffocate them. I inherited it from my dad - he died on Christmas Day in 1992 and was just 54.
"I lived almost unaffected by the disease until about a year ago, when I noticed I was becoming increasingly tired. I would come home from work and have to sleep for a couple of hours.
"I went on to dialysis last month. I would be wired up for four hours a day, which meant our lives revolved around home. But then we got the news we had been waiting for."
Mr Macfarlane, a self-employed plasterer, said: "I told Suzi right back last year I would have no problem giving her one of my kidneys.
"She's my wife and I want her to be well again.
"If the truth be known, I didn't think I would be a good enough match, so we were amazed when we found out just what a good match we were."
Mr Macfarlane said: "If one of you has a positive blood group, the other must be negative.
"There are also lots of tests to make sure I don't have any antibodies which will attack Suzi's body - these tests have to be done right up to the transplant."
On April 21, Mrs Macfarlane's birthday, the doctors called the couple in and said they had booked them in for surgery.
Mr Macfarlane said: "We haven't been nervous - we just wanted to get it over and done with and get our lives back."
After recovering from the operations, the couple are planning a holiday.
Mrs Macfarlane said: "Our life has been on hold - and now we want to make up for lost time."
During the operation, a number of tiny incisions were made in Mr Macfarlane's abdominal wall for video equipment and instruments to fit through to remove the healthy kidney.
It was then placed in a bag and extracted and chilled on ice, before being prepared for immediate implantation into Mrs Macfarlane, who was in an adjoining operating theatre.
The Oxford Mail is encouraging readers to help ease the chronic shortage of transplantable organs by signing the Organ Donor Register.
To find out more about organ donation call 0845 6060400 or visit www.uktransplant.org.uk
If you are on the organ donor waiting list, or have already received an organ transplant, call Debbie Waite on 01865 425428 or email her at debbie.waite@oxfordmail.co.uk
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