A former regional newspaper journalist is donating one of his kidneys to save his son from a life-threatening illness.

Brian Reade is a former reporter at the Liverpool Echo and current Daily Mirror columnist.

His son Phil, 21, suffers from renal kidney failure and thanks to a new medical advance Brian is now able to donate his kidney.

This will see surgeons will carry out a transplant procedure which overcomes the problem of the father and son having different blood groups.

The revolutionary advance means Phil won’t have to use a dialysis machine while potentially waiting years for a donor to come forward.

Brian told the Echo: “It was horrible when I found out that I was a different blood group to Phil, which meant I couldn’t give him one of my kidneys. It was my instinct to give him one of them. I’m happy he will benefit from this advance

“I’m not worried in the least about the transplant because the main thing to me is that Phil gets better.”

Brian Reade with his son Phil at the Camp Nou

The transplant could take place in a year’s time at the earliest and the kidney could last between 10 to 15 years and Brian is set to undergo stringent medical tests to ensure he can take part in the operation.

Said Phil: “When you think about what it means to have a machine keeping you alive then that would naturally concern anyone. You would be going through that treatment three or four times every week. Donating an organ like my dad is one of the most generous things you could do for someone because it is the gift of life to the person who needs it.”