A COUPLE who have both donated their kidneys to two of their children are appealing for a donor who could help save their daughter’s life.

Joanne and Mark Wishick from Leigh have set up a JustGiving page in order to find a kidney donor for their daughter Ella, 19, who along with her brother Oliver, 14, was both born with chronic kidney failure.

When Oliver was two, Mark donated his kidney to him to save his life. Mrs Wishick was there to save their daughter Ella in February 2012.

Oliver is now healthy but Ella’s kidney transplant was not as successful.

Mrs Wishick said: “We are appealing to anyone who would be willing to donate their kidney so Ella’s not stuck on dialysis for a long time.”

The couple are believed to be the first in the UK to both donate kidneys to their own children.

Ella’s kidney is currently functioning at 15 per cent. Her body is constantly itchy, she suffers regular fevers and she is coughing a lot due to her body creating too much mucus.

Mrs Wishick says these are all signs of the kidney shutting down. As a result, Ella needs a new kidney or a sterile area to have three sessions of dialysis a week, each taking four hours.

Mrs Wishick said: “Ella currently shares a bedroom with her younger sister Rosie who is 16, but Ella needs her own sterilised room to house a dialysis machine while we are looking for a potential donor.”

She continued: “We only have a small semi-detached house so we need to extend in some way to accommodate the equipment and create a safe, sterile space.”

Due to the failure of the donated organ, Ella’s condition has worsened in recent times and the family are hoping a suitable donor can be found sooner rather than later.

Mrs Wishick said: “Ella is only 19 and should be going out with her friends enjoying herself.

Instead she’s very weak, tired all the time, being sick at least two or three times a day.

“She never asked for anything for herself even though she’s been ill all her life. She deserves a bit of luck for a change.”

Ella has experienced loss of appetite from feeling nauseous constantly and Mrs Wishick has said she is “generally very low”.

So far in their effort to find a donor, the family has received many offers to be tested for a matcht.

The total raised to help the family is currently at £4,145 just 17 days after the JustGiving page was created.

Mrs Wishick took to the page a week ago to update the contributors after Ella was taking into a hospital to be treated for an infection.

Ella is expected to be released from hospital today.

Her parents are very hopeful and encouraged by the support the family has received so far and hopes that a suitable donor will be found who will be able to help.

Putting to rest any fears anyone may have about becoming a donor, Mrs Wishick said: “I have never had any problems myself from donating my kidney, we do not actually need two.”