A lifelong Millwall fan has selflessly donated one of his kidneys to a Crystal Palace supporter, who says he woke up from the operation singing Millwall songs.
Garry Tanner, 39, received the transplant on Thursday 5 February at Guy’s Hospital after living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for the past 30 years.
His brother-in-law, 51-year-old Tony, had anonymously put his own name forward to be Garry’s donor.
Garry said: “I’ve obviously never been Millwall’s biggest fan and, to be honest, I usually hope they lose. When I woke up after the surgery, Tony and his son had me singing a Millwall song, which was a bit tricky, but I didn’t care. He’d effectively saved my life.”
CKD is a progressive condition where the function of Garry’s kidneys decreases over time. There is no cure and, without a successful transplant, it can ultimately prove fatal.
Knowing this, Tony contacted Guy’s Hospital, offering his own kidney “so that Garry can be the best Dad he can be.”
He said: “I decided to put myself forward because Garry and his wife Charlotte have the most wonderful little family with three lovely children, two of whom are under five.”
Tony’s own son, also a Millwall supporter, finds the football rivalry element of the transplant “hilarious”, joking that Garry now has to be a mascot or visit The Den wearing a Millwall shirt.
Tony, however, has other ideas. “There’s still no changing Garry from Palace,” he laughed. “I’ve told him he’s not to come to any Millwall games – The Den is my church and he’s not allowed in it.”
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Garry said the pair have shared years of Millwall-versus-Crystal Palace banter. He is even considering commissioning a half-Millwall, half-Palace shirt to mark the bond they now share.
Both men live near Sevenoaks with their wives, who are sisters. Garry grew up in the area and says he inherited his Palace support from his father.
Tony grew up in Waterloo but attended the now-demolished Scott Lidgett School in Bermondsey, just five minutes from The Den’s old ground. He was a season ticket holder for ten years whilst his three children were young, but still makes it to the games whenever he can.
“Garry texts me four or five times a day thanking me for what I’ve done,” Tony said. “I tell him it will all be worth it when he’s running around the garden playing with the kids.”
Ahead of the operation, Tony followed a strict fitness regime, losing 24kg to ensure he was in peak condition for surgery.
The men have the same blood type, but Tony explained that crucially they also had the same number of kidney valves, which meant they were a perfect match for the transplant.
Garry has lived with CKD since he was a boy, but in recent years his kidney function had declined to just 10 per cent.
“I’ve known for a long time that I would need a transplant,” he said. “But I didn’t expect it to come from someone I’d only known for a few years. Not many people would do what he’s done for me. He’s an incredible man.”
One of the main symptoms of CKD is extreme fatigue, forcing Garry to work from home rather than commute to the office in the City, where he works for a private bank.
He said: “I have two very young children and I wasn’t able to be the parent I wanted to be. CKD only gets worse as time goes on, so I knew something needed to be done.”
Guy’s Hospital, where Tony was born, is well-known for its expertise in kidney transplantation. The team at Guy’s began compatibility tests for the transplant long before Garry knew Tony had offered to be his donor.
The operation took place last week and, according to both men, went “as smoothly as it could have done.”
Garry shared the news on X, writing: “Last week I had a life saving kidney transplant, donated to me by a family Millwall supporter.
“Thankfully it was a success, but I do now have a bit of Millwall in me… What an incredibly selfless thing to do, life changing, from a rival…”
The post has received over 40,000 interactions, with good wishes pouring in from supporters of both clubs.
“All the Millwall fans commenting on my X post have been so friendly,” Garry said. “It just shows there are people out there who genuinely do care, rivalries aside.”
Both men now face months of recovery, with Garry currently taking more than 30 tablets a day to prevent organ rejection.
“CKD can eventually lead to death. I’m not saying it was going to happen tomorrow,” Garry added, “but Tony’s selflessness has effectively given me another 20 years of life and saved me a lot of suffering.”
To learn more about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) or to donate to leading charity Kidney Care UK, please visit: https://kidneycareuk.org/
