At this time of giving, there can be no greater gift than that given by Kevin Loftus to his daughter, Laura.

He sacrificed one of his kidneys so that she could live a full life.

Kevin, of Caister Grove, Keighley, is one of very few parents who have given-up an organ in this way.

Three years ago he underwent an operation at St James' Hospital, Leeds, to remove one of his kidneys. Waiting in surgery in the other theatre was Laura - then 11 - ready to receive the transplant.

The operation was one of only a hand-full of living donor transplants at the hospital.

And three years on, Laura - a pupil at Oakbank School, Keighley - is a bubbly 13 year-old, transformed from the listless and quiet child she once was.

She lives with her mum, Linda, and two brothers Grant, 18, and Ben, 15, in Cromer Avenue, Keighley, only 100 yards from her 46 year-old dad.

Laura was born with three kidneys - one an enlarged double kidney. Doctors spotted the abnormality when she was ten weeks old when she wouldn't feed and couldn't urinate.

She had to undergo an operation to fit a tube to enable her to urinate without using her bladder and when she was almost three, the enlarged kidney was removed.

Linda recalled: "He condition was controlled by medication and a special diet, but she was tired and very small.

"And her surviving kidney was getting less effective as she got older."

Eventually, the time came when she would have to use dialysis - or undergo a transplant.

Kevin and Linda remember vividly the struggle to find a donor after Laura was put on the transplant waiting list.

Both parents had been tested to see if they were a match for a transplant and Kevin was most suitable, but doctors still preferred to use a kidney from someone who had died.

"But when Laura's health became worse and she had problems with her breathing, it was decided I should give one of my kidneys. It was something I had always wanted to do," said Kevin, a machine tool fitter.

"Laura could have tried kidney dialysis but she was terrified so I said let's get on with it."

But before surgery, he had to go through a number of further tissue tests and counselling to make sure he was fully prepared for the surgery.

They took about a month and then a date was set for the surgery - March 20 1998.

"When I came round I was a bit worse for wear but the next day I was sitting up in bed, the day after I was getting out of bed."

Kevin was off work for about 10 weeks because of the nature of his job - it involves a lot of lifting.

"The operation has not changed my life at all. I feel no after effects and I'm as fit as I ever was.

"The big change is in Laura's life and that's what made it worth it," he said.

And the family saw a big change in Laura.

"She was a completely different child," said Linda. "We always thought she was a quiet, shy child but the transplant changed all that.

"She's much more outgoing, energetic - even loud. She's joined a dancing class and she socialises more."

Laura recalled: "I was a bit frightened about the operation but pleased at the same time. I was always tired before. I never wanted to go for walks and I didn't play out. Now I'm a lot better."

Earlier this year, Laura was presented with a Young Hero medal and certificate by The National Kidney Research Fund. It is to honour youngsters who show a real fighting spirit in coping with their kidney disease.

There have been between 15 and 20 living donor transplants at St James' Hospital over the last couple of years. The target is 25 a year.

Georgina Speak, who has 21 years experience on the renal unit, is the transplant liaison nurse, a job she has had since July.

She builds up a close relationship with the donor in the six months of tests and counselling they go through before the transplant operation.

And during the operation she is in charge of the profusion process when the kidney is removed cooled and flushed out before being given to the donor. "It is a very satisfying job," said Mrs Speak, a mother of two.

"Living donor transplants are very good because the kidney is being donated from a fit and healthy person rather than a dying person.

"Many tests have been carried out on the living donor to make sure they are well and suitable.

"And theatre time is different. The kidney is not left on ice for 24 hours. If the operations follow each other from donor to recipient it can be just two hours - or only 25 minutes if the operations are adjacent," she said.