A father from Devon who has suffered kidney disease for 10 years is preparing for an operation to receive a replacement organ from his 20-year-old son.

Former train driver Keith Forbes, of Exeter, had been unaware that son Richard, 18-year-old daughter Clare and wife Jane, 43, were all prepared to give a kidney to end his decade of dialysis.

Call centre operator Richard was selected by doctors as the most appropriate donor for his 47-year-old father.

Mr Forbes had carried a pager for 10 years to alert him when a kidney donor was found but it never went off.

He said today: 'I am a lucky man to have such a family and there is nothing I can do or say to my son to thank him.'

Mr Forbes, from Weirfield Road, Exeter, Devon, and Richard are due to undergo the three-hour operation in Bristol on Monday.

He said his son and daughter had grown up with his illness, adding: 'We were always truthful about what was wrong with me.'

Unknown to him, they decided to sacrifice a kidney for their father.

'They got it into their heads to do something for their dad, and spoke to their mother about it,' said Mr Forbes.

Mrs Forbes's blood group did not match her husband's, but their children's did.

'They spoke to someone at the kidney unit, but did not tell me and when they did I was shocked,' he said.

'It was a great gesture by both of my children,' said Mr Forbes.

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