A NEW kidney bought a new life for one man lucky enough to have had a transplant.

This picture, taken on May 8, 1978, shows Peter Mullen jumping for joy after having a kidney transplant.

For Mr Mullen, of Belthorn, aged 20, it meant being able to get a job and lead a normal life.

Instead of staying at home with no social life and unable to pursue most interests foe people of his age, he went on to have a full-time job as a driver and spent his weekends energetically gardening.

Mr Mullen first became ill when he was nine and it was thought he had recovered at the time. However he faced a set back.

The sequence was repeated when he was 12, but by the time he was 15, his kidneys had failed completely.

That meant three 10-hour sessions each week on a dialysis machine at the renal unit in Manchester.

Mr Mullen was one of the lucky ones. He did not have to wait too long for a suitable kidney and in July 1974 he underwent a successful transplant.

"I have never looked back since," he said. "When I was ill. I couldn't do anything I wanted and I had no social life.

"But when I got my new kidney, I could eat anything I wanted and lead a normal life. I'm as fit as anyone else now."

A campaign to recruit new donors started in the Burnley health district, along with Rossendale and Pendle, later that month.