A MOTHER-OF-THREE from a village near Bromsgrove is to take advantage of a pioneering operation and donate a kidney to change her son's life.

Margaret Vaughan, of Sandhills Road, Barnt Green, thought she had been ruled out of helping 26-year-old Alan because she is a different blood type.

Then she heard about a Swedish operation being introduced at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and put herself forward - now she is waiting to be given an exact date in May.

"It's something any mother would do," said the 58-year-old Birmingham University librarian. "Anyone with a family will understand that it wasn't a difficult choice. I found out about the operation and saw the surgeon when he came from Sweden so it's been up to me all along."

The new technique kills antibodies in the different blood types. Mrs Vaughan will be only the second patient for the QE team and husband Peter, aged 61, a minibus driver at Bromsgrove School, said he was very proud of her.

"I'm also very nervous," he said. "It's not likely to be a serious risk for her but it will mean she has to spend three weeks in hospital. Alan will be in intensive care for a while and will have to take anti-rejection tablets."

Mr Vaughan, a retired PE and history teacher and former head of the lower school at Colmers Farm in Rubery, said Alan had part of his kidney destroyed by a rare virus at 18.

As well as undergoing four four-hour dialysis sessions a week, he has a restricted diet and has to take a variety of pills.

He is only able to work mornings for the NAS/UWT in Birmingham, Mr Vaughan added. His brothers Gareth, aged 31, is a bank worker and 28-year-old Chris is a journalist and former sports editor of the Advertiser/Messenger.

"Alan manages to have a good life. He goes out with his friends and has a girlfriend but he could have a better life. We hope this operation will help," said Mr Vaughan.

Helping others literally runs in the family's blood - Mr Vaughan has just received a certificate for being a blood donor 100 times in 40 years and Chris and Gareth are on the bone marrow transplant register.