A Leicester dad whose sister saved his life by giving him a kidney says he can't wait to fulfil a long-held ambition – to play football with his son in the park.

Kalvender Khuman is recovering at home in Leicester following a transplant operation using a kidney donated by his sister, Shindo Mold.

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   Kalvender Khuman at home with his son Gorvin

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   Kalvender Khuman at home with his son Gorvin, wife Ranjit and daughter Kiran

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The 48-year-old father-of-three, of Western Park, is itching to get to the park with 12-year-old son Gorvin.

Mr Khuman, 48, said: "It is the one thing that I am most looking forward to when I get fully fit. My son is now 12 and for the last six years I have been ill and had to be in dialysis.

"This meant that I was always too tired to play with him on the park. He is a strapping six-footer now and plays with a team. I want more than anything to be able to knock the ball around with him and be a real dad to him."

Mr Khuman underwent the operation at Leicester General Hospital on March 21.

He said: "Things are looking good. I have so much more energy already, it is amazing.

"Tests show that my sister's kidney, which is inside me, is already working at 80 per cent. When I was first given her kidney it was working at 20 per cent, so I have come a long way in a short time."

Mr Khuman said he thanked his sister for her kidney by giving her a big hug and a kiss.

He said: "I saw Shindo the day after the operation when I was still in the intensive care unit and she burst into tears. I told her I hoped they were tears of joy because she had saved my life.

"Just before she was discharged she came to see me on the ward. I said thank you and hugged her like I had never hugged her before.

"This operation has made us closer as I have a piece of her with me always. I used to call her once a fortnight, but now we are on the phone all the time. It's great."

Mrs Mold, 49, who lives in Leeds and went home three days after the operation, said: "It was the least I could do for my brother.

"I know he would do the same for me. It is great to hear that he is making such good progress."

Mr Khuman's kidneys failed in 1999 after becoming scarred and damaged due to infections in his youth.

After two years of dialysis, he was given a kidney from a person on the organ donor register who had died in an accident.

But after five years of normal life, the new kidney stopped working.

Since then, Mr Khuman has faced six hours of dialysis at home every other day for seven years.

It was only in March last year, when he had a cardiac arrest due to the treatment, that he finally allowed his sister to ask doctors to see if she could be a suitable donor.

The pair found out she was a perfect match just weeks before the swap.

Gorvin, a pupil at Market Bosworth High School, said: "I can't wait to go to the park with dad. It will be so much better than it used to be.

"Now he will have a lot of energy and be able to help me train."

Mrs Mold is coming to Leicester for a check-up in four weeks' time and the family is planning a garden party.

Mr Khuman said: "It is her 50th birthday this year and we are going away to a villa in Majorca for that. But I have got her a special gift for giving me the gift of life. It is surprise and I hope she likes it."

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