The BBC on 15th March 2010 at 10:35pm has a documentary entitled "Diet or My Husband Dies".
It sounds like one of those strange "human interest" stories you read in those real-life story magazines.
But...
Andy Lamb was dying of kidney failure, he'd had a transplant before. He now has dialysis three times a week. His wife Samantha could save him by donating one of her kidneys. But she was overweight and had to loose 22kg (almost 50lbs) before the doctors would consider operating on her. She gave herself four months to loose the weight - 2kg a week. For the ladies, that's from a UK size 24 to a size 16.
As well as following her trying to shed so much weight, it includes part of Andy's treatment being filmed.
We also get treated to watching her kidney being removed, and then part of the transplant. Andy now has FOUR kidneys - his original two, still in the usual place, plus the first one transplanted and then his wife's, both in the front of his pelvic region. Most interesting part I found was just how quickly the new kidney sprung into action - as the surgeon completed the last stitches to join the blood supply to the new kidney, he said watch this, squeezed it and some blood-stained urine was expelled before he moved on to connecting it to the bladder.
If you have access to the BBC iPlayer and missed this, do have a look. (Yes, the transplant was a success.)
PS Samantha didn't use any magic diet pills, or special herbs, or special tea, or secret formula drink, she reduced her food intake and increased the amount of exercise she took.
