A husband who donated one of his kidneys to his wife on the eve of Valentine’s Day has said they are both recovering well.

Chris and Tracy Barrett spent February 14 in the Churchill Hospital in Headington, Oxford, following an operation that will give them back their freedom.

Eleven years to the day since they first met, Mr Barrett underwent a four-hour operation to remove one his kidneys before it was transferred to his wife, who has suffered with polycystic kidneys for more than two years.

The couple, from Marcham, spent Valentine’s Day on a ward surrounded by cards from friends and family before returning home late last week.

The pioneering keyhole procedure should rid Mrs Barrett of her reliance on nightly dialysis sessions and allow her to lead a full and active life.

Mr Barrett, 39, said: “Touch wood, everything is going OK.

“It’s fantastic, really. It’s going well and the transplant seems to have taken, but obviously you have to wait and see.

“I was the first in and my operation took about three and a half to four hours.

“Then Tracy went in and hers took about an hour and a half.

“Both surgeons were fantastic, I cannot speak highly enough of them.”

Mrs Barrett, 42, said: “I hope that when the bruising comes out I can catch up on lost sleep, but apart from that I’m definitely feeling better in my self.

“We have been looking after each other.

“I’ve been asking how he is, and he’s been asking how I am. I just can’t believe we are back home just a week after the operations.”

Mr Barrett, a business consultant for Natwest, said the support the couple had received from friends, family and the hospital staff had been wonderful.

He said: “A friend of mine delivered a happy anniversary and Valentine’s card before the operation, so Tracy knew she had those waiting for her.

“It was lovely, I think everybody there knew we were husband and wife.

“I’ve found the whole thing incredible. I actually feel more positive and I want to do more.

“It’s a remarkable experience and I want to maximise any help we can give to the kidney people.

“I would be happy to talk to anybody who wants to discuss becoming a donor — having gone through it, I feel I can tell them the difference it makes.”

Care assistant Mrs Barrett, who is currently taking up to 25 tablets a day to help her rehabilitation, said: “The surgeons were fantastic.

“I don’t think we realise how fortunate we are to have such great hospitals like the John Radcliffe and the Churchill on our doorsteps until something like transplant surgery comes about.”

tairs@oxfordmail.co.uk