Marilyn Jarvis has given her husband Paul the best start to 2009 he could ever have hoped for – a kidney and a new lease of life.

The devoted wife gave her husband one of her organs after he had to have his removed after being diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Jarvis, of Wrington Road, Congresbury, was diagnosed after suffering terrible pain in his back two days before his 50th birthday in January 2003.

Doctors at Weston General Hospital also discovered he had been born with only one kidney.

Surgeons removed the diseased kidney and Mr Jarvis started dialysis three times a week at Weston General.

After a year he received a dialysis machine at home where he continued his treatment, which at one point was increased to five times a week.

Mr Jarvis, a retired management consultant for an insurance company, knew he faced a minimum of five years on dialysis to ensure he was clear of cancer before a kidney transplant would be carried out.

He was also aware there were not enough kidney donors to meet the demand for transplants, and that patients can wait years for a suitable donor.

Five years after going into remission, his wife Marilyn gave him a lifeline and offered one of her kidneys.

A series of complex tissue and blood tests had to be carried out and found it would be suitable to transplant into her husband.

On December 5 last year the couple, who have been married for 26 years, went into the operating theatre at Southmead Hospital, and the transplant took place.

Mrs Jarvis underwent a four-hour operation while medics removed her kidney using keyhole surgery.

The operation to transplant the organ into her husband took two hours and the pair were both transferred to intensive care.

Following the operation, Mr Jarvis had to attend the renal unit three times a week for blood tests, and an infection put him back into hospital for a week, but he got home just in time to celebrate his 56th birthday.

Now, he is enjoying a relaxed way of life he has not known for six years – no more fat-free diet, no more fluid intake restricted to one litre a day and no more three-hour sessions of dialysis.

He is now looking forward to planning the holiday to Canada and Alaska he had to cancel six years ago.

Mr Jarvis, who is also a Congresbury parish councillor, said: "My wife gave me the gift of life and really, I am still trying to come to terms with it.

"She is a heroine in my eyes and I think she is amazing.

"It goes without question that I would have done the same for her."

Mr Jarvis, a grandfather of two, is still recovering from the operation and regularly attends hospital for checks and he will have to take immune suppression drugs for the rest of his life.