A BRAVE young kidney transplant recipient is staging a charity fund-raiser to help others with renal problems.

L’Oren Greer and her best friend, Lauren Rowe, hope to raise at least £1,000 during a family fun day at North Baddesley Village Hall on Sunday.

All cash raised at the event which runs from 11am to 4pm will go to the British Kidney Patient Association, which helps support people with renal problems and their families.

“This cause is very close to our hearts and any support would be greatly appreciated,” said 21-year-old L’Oren, who has been planning the event with her friend since May.

“We will have a bouncy castle and an ambulance for people to look around, face painting, a barbecue, tea and coffee and much more,” she told the Advertiser.

L’Oren, who lives in Southampton, was diagnosed with chronic renal failure in June 2008 and is recovering from a kidney transplant three weeks ago.

She recalls that she was 15 and studying for her GCSEs when she was given the news that her kidneys were packing up.

“I was diagnosed on June 19 2008 and was told I would need a transplant within a year,” she said.

“This was very scary as a young adult. I stayed in hospital for a while until they had gained a little control of my kidneys and I started on quite a lot of medication.”

L’Oren explained that she was constantly tired and kept falling asleep as the kidney failure progressed.

“I fought my illness for six years but really started to struggle last year.

“Life was getting harder on a day-to-day basis. I was working full-time in an awesome nursery which was helping me push myself but I was being sick most days at work and at home and this was getting tiring.”

She said that her condition made it difficult to eat and when she did she felt sick.

“I would feel sick straight away even if just minutes before I was hungry,” said L’Oren.

Doctors carried out tests on family members to see if they would be suitable donors and her brother Sean was a contender at one stage.

However, L’Oren received a call from an official at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital on June 18 to tell her a possible suitable kidney had been found and she had the transplant the next day.

“I was excited, scared, anxious and all of the other emotions. Once at the hospital we had to wait for a cross-match to be done and it was a perfect match.

“My transplant was at 1am on June 19 exactly six years from when I was diagnosed. I came out of surgery and was back in my room by 8am.

“I am now ready to start living my life. I was surprised how well I felt after the operation. Despite, the pain I felt healthy. I felt awesome and this was