The Ultimate Gift!

The spirit of mateship has always been strong at Sydney Trains, but one Cleaning Attendant has gone above and beyond to give a sick workmate the ultimate gift – a new kidney.

Andrew Day and Nerissa Plummer had been cleaning trains together for 12 years when Nerissa broke the news that her kidney functionality had dropped to 10% and that she would need dialysis.

Andrew stepped in to help Nerissa during this tough time, driving her to and from hospital and sitting with her during every treatment.

Explaining his generosity, Andrew said, "Nerissa is the kindest, most generous person. She has done so much for me, so when she started dialysis, I wondered how I could help."

This desire to help then progressed to making the extraordinary offer to donate one of his own kidneys if it was a match. After 11 months of extensive testing, Andrew and Nerissa were given the green light to undergo the transplant.

What makes this story even more incredible is that Andrew has a very rare blood type.

"I couldn’t believe we were a match. The odds were something like one in a thousand," he said.

The pair underwent kidney transplant surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital and have both made a full recovery.

After a successful operation, Andrew says the donation is the best thing he’s done.

"I'm so relieved – it's been a very long but successful journey and I feel like I've achieved something great."

Nerissa has just celebrated 30 years of service with Sydney Trains and thanks to Andrew’s selflessness, she can now look forward to many more.


The spirit of mateship has always been strong at Sydney Trains, but one Cleaning Attendant has gone above and beyond to give a sick workmate the ultimate gift – a new kidney.

Andrew Day and Nerissa Plummer had been cleaning trains together for 12 years when Nerissa broke the news that her kidney functionality had dropped to 10% and that she would need dialysis.

Andrew stepped in to help Nerissa during this tough time, driving her to and from hospital and sitting with her during every treatment.

Explaining his generosity, Andrew said, "Nerissa is the kindest, most generous person. She has done so much for me, so when she started dialysis, I wondered how I could help."

This desire to help then progressed to making the extraordinary offer to donate one of his own kidneys if it was a match. After 11 months of extensive testing, Andrew and Nerissa were given the green light to undergo the transplant.

What makes this story even more incredible is that Andrew has a very rare blood type.

"I couldn’t believe we were a match. The odds were something like one in a thousand," he said.

The pair underwent kidney transplant surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital and have both made a full recovery.

After a successful operation, Andrew says the donation is the best thing he’s done.

"I'm so relieved – it's been a very long but successful journey and I feel like I've achieved something great."

Nerissa has just celebrated 30 years of service with Sydney Trains and thanks to Andrew’s selflessness, she can now look forward to many more.


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Page last updated: 22 Feb 2019, 09:59 AM