FORMER nurse Jenny Fullard, who worked in Africa with the flying doctor service, is no stranger to world travel – but it was a recent taxi dash to Bristol that changed her life forever.

That journey, which developed into a dramatic race against time, ended with the 65-year-old Poole woman receiving a new kidney.

But her transplant operation almost didn’t happen - she was having dialysis in Poole when the nurse came in and told her to get her things together.

Jenny, who also suffers from a rare muscle disease, recalled: “I just burst into tears. I was so shocked. I thought, because of my muscle problems, I would never be chosen for transplant.”

However, Jenny was actually the standby recipient for the kidney. Last-minute tests on the first transplant patient indicated the organ would be rejected.

So by the time Jenny received the call that changed her life, the clock had already been ticking for some time.

“By the time I got to hospital, I had the operation 19 hours after the kidney had been removed,” she said.

“The limit is 20 hours, so it was a pretty quick dash to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital in a taxi. It was a close-run thing.

“The awful thing was that, at first, the taxi driver didn’t have enough petrol and his sat nav wasn’t working. When we set off I don’t think he realised the importance of the journey, although I quickly let him know.

“It was all quite dramatic, but we got there in the end and I was in theatre an hour after arriving.”

The new organ, which brought an end to her gruelling four-hour, three times a week, dialysis sessions has already given Jenny a new lease of life.

And, in the eagerly-anticipated royal wedding year, maybe it is apt that Jenny’s friends have already dubbed the organ Camilla.

Why Camilla? “Because Camilla is not easily rejected,” Jenny explained with a wry smile.

In fact, such was Jenny and her husband’s delight that, following the operation, that took place two months ago, they organised a party with friends dressing up in royal attire.

The proceeds of this event, some £500, were donated to the UK Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity, as it was this genetic condition that Jenny suffered from.

Now, just weeks after World Kidney Day, Jenny wants to ensure more people sign up for the NHS donor register, so more people can have their lives transformed.

Despite the good humour which has helped in the dark times during her three years on the organ transplant list, Jenny is mindful of the tragic circumstances in which she became Camilla’s recipient.

“All we know is that the woman died of a brain haemorrhage, that she was 67 and lived in the Midlands,” said Jenny.

“I have written a long letter to her relatives which will be handed over. Hopefully they will read it and maybe reply one day.

“I am so grateful for my new kidney. It has given me a new lease of life.”

So will Jenny be watching the Royal Wedding?

“You bet,” she said.

“We have all the bunting and flags from our party, so it will be great to have friends around and use them again.

“I’m feeling so much better now – it’s hard to explain to people. I would urge anyone to get on the donor list and to help the UK Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity.

“They really make a difference to other people’s lives.”

Visit pkdcharity.co.uk and organdonation.nhs.uk for more details.