Greg Bishop was a young, fit, 30-year-old, pursuing his dream of becoming a firefighter when he received the most shocking news of his life.

He said: “I had been getting headaches and went to the doctor who found my blood pressure was through the roof.

“Further tests revealed the problem was actually with my kidneys. The consultant told me I was at a late stage of kidney disease, but that I could go on happily for the next 20 years with little difference.

“But three months later I was just starting a night shift when my then-girlfriend phoned me in tears. The hospital had called and said my latest blood count was terrible.

“They wanted me in straight away to go on dialysis and my life was about to be turned upside down.”

Greg, from Woodstock, went from being a fit and healthy firefighter doing what he loved, to being tired and lethargic, unable to work and depending on thrice weekly, four-hour dialysis sessions.

With the help of doctors at the Churchill Hospital, a new treatment plan was devised to fit his fire service shifts and he was able to return to work in February 2001.

He said: “Shortly afterwards I was put on the donor register — although the doctors explained I could be waiting anything from 18 months to a matter of years for a transplant.”

A year later and fast approaching the limit of how long he could safely remain on the form of dialysis he was using, Greg received a call telling him to get to hospital because a donor kidney had been found.

And within days of the operation, Greg was walking around the hospital grounds.

He said: “My eyes and skin were no longer yellow and I felt amazing – full of life again.

“I do not know much about the man whose kidney I received, other than that he was a few years older than me. But I wrote a letter, which was passed to his family, to tell them how much he had changed my life.”

Greg returned to work in June 2002, married long-term love Lisa in May 2003 and became a father to two daughters – Madeleine, now five, and Charlotte, two.

Now 38 and manager of Blue Watch at The Slade Fire Station in Oxford, he said: “It’s strange, but February 11, 1998, was the day I signed my contract with the fire service, February 11, 2002, was the day of my transplant and February 11, 2003, was the day Madeleine was born – it has become a pretty significant date in my life.”

As a thank-you to the Churchill, Greg and fellow firefighters did a 26-hour boat row from Lechlade to Henley, raising £3,600 to buy two specialist beds for the transplant unit.

He said: “The hospital, my family and friends and the fire service have been wonderful throughout, and I know that all the lads at the station have also signed the Organ Donor Register.

“I was lucky to receive a transplant, but there are so many people out there who are still waiting — and could be waiting forever.”

dwaite@oxfordmail.co.uk