IT was a genuine gift of love from a wife to her husband.

But it was one that for a long time Anthony Charles did not want to accept.

For seven years his health had gone downhill after he was diagnosed with kidney problems.

And as his condition worsened, his kidneys failed and he faced dialysis three times a week.

Last November he became one of the thousands of people to go on a transplant list waiting for a kidney.

He was tired and unwell. Life was a constant struggle.

Anthony and his wife, Michelle, who live in Bradley Stoke, could not go away in case a call came through from the transplant team.

Michelle had offered him one of her kidneys two years ago.

At the time Anthony said no.

And he kept saying no.

The 47-year-old taxi driver said: "I knew it could affect her health in the future and felt it was a commitment beyond marital obligations.

"It felt like too big a gift from her and I felt there was no way I could ask her to."

Michelle said: "From the start I said I would give him a kidney, but he wouldn't talk about it."

But then he was warned that because his health was deteriorating, a transplant would have to be carried out sooner rather than later.

It was then he agreed to accept his wife's offer.

On May 28 the couple, who have been married for 12 years, went into Southmead Hospital together.

Michelle, 42, who works as an ambulance call centre manager, was taken into the operating theatre at 8am.

Four hours later Anthony followed.

As he later came round in the recovery room, the first thing he saw was Michelle in a bed across the room.

The operations, carried out using keyhole surgery, had been a success.

Within 24 hours of the operation a scan showed that Michelle's left kidney was already working inside her husband.

Anthony said: "The radiographer said it was working, which was a surprise even to her and I was speechless. I'm in awe of the whole thing.

"It has put love in a different perspective. This is beyond love as we know it. I feel that I will be forever in Michelle's debt."

But she said there is no need. She explained: "It has changed the quality of both of our lives.

"With Anthony on dialysis three times a week he was feeling unwell and tired, and we could not go away because of the waiting list transplant. To see him well again means so much.

"And the operation was not nearly as bad as I had expected.

"To this day I cannot believe how gentle they must have been.

"It was not as scary as you would expect."

Surgeon Najib Kadi has left Michelle with just three small marks and a small scar along her bikini line, where the kidney was removed.

She said: "It is not making any difference to my life. I don't feel any different.

"I know all surgery has a risk but I don't feel anything, apart from having recovered from an operation."

As for Anthony he feels better all the time.

He said: "Since the operation I have felt like I can do things that while I'm recovering I shouldn't.

"I just want to get out there and do the shopping and the garden. I think I feel like I'm ready for more than I probably am after major surgery. My blood pressure has come down and I've lost a stone of weight. I already feel ten times better than I did before."