In 2007, George Scattergood was working as a chef in Arnside when he started suffering from cramps in his legs.

Tests revealed the 58-year-old was suffering from acute kidney disease and he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.

He was told he would die without a transplant and has now been on the waiting list for a year.

His wife of 17 years, Lynn, wanted to be a live donor but found out earlier this year that she is not a match.

Mr Scattergood, of Owlet Ash Fields, Milnthorpe, now spends three gruelling mornings a week on haemodialysis at Westmorland General Hospital and hopes that a donor will be found soon.

He is urging Gazette readers to back the Gift of Life campaign to help people like him lead a normal life once again. “I was working at the at The Albion in Arnside as a chef, spending 10 hours a day on my feet so when I got cramps in my legs I just thought it was because I was standing up all day.

“I was also getting increasingly tired so thought I’d better visit my GP.

“He ran some tests and found that my blood was toxic and my legs had been hurting so much because all the chemicals in my body were affecting my muscles. I needed to go to hospital straight away for more tests because he thought I was going into kidney failure.

“At first I was in Lancaster Royal Infirmary and then I was transferred to Preston because I was just getting sicker and sicker.”

The only long-term hope for Mr Scattergood is a kidney transplant, but he faced a delay getting on the list because two years before he had suffered a heart attack and needed to time on dialysis while his body built up strength.

“A year ago doctors thought the dialysis had been working and I was healthy enough to go on the list,” he said. “But so far a donor hasn’t been found.”

So for three days each week he has to undergo haemodialysis to filter toxins from his blood.

“It involves putting really large needles into my arms to hook me up to the machines. I really find it quite hard sometimes.

“It’s very painful and I’ve got so many scars. The sessions start at 6.30am and last until 1pm.

“Sometimes I go to sleep, or sometimes it’s so painful that I can’t.

“I remember seeing a boy there once, he must have only been about ten or twelve, but he was hooked up to haemodialysis machine like I was. To see someone so young to have to go through this three times a week to stay alive really tugged on my heart.

“It’s emotional turmoil knowing that somebody will have to die so that I can live and it’s something that I think about everyday.

“I do get really upset, and I know that Lynn is going through a lot too having to work and support both of us and then caring for me when she’s at home.

“I’d like nothing more than to be well again and let Lynn put her feet up for once. I would just say to Westmorland Gazette readers, sign up to the register today. Just by being on the list you could help so many people after your death, and help others, like myself, get their life back. An organ is the greatest gift you can give to anyone.”