THEY say that people who have a brother will always have a friend.

But for Barrie Jones, his sibling is also the man who saved his livelihood.

Last summer the 49-year-old was told that his kidneys had been in decline for many years and were about to fail.

To avoid going onto dialysis three days a week, Barrie, of St Giles Hill in Winchester, needed a transplant.

That is when his brother David Jones, 51, stepped in.

Barrie said: “Fourteen months ago I was told that my kidneys that had been in decline for many years were about to fail – the only way I could stay alive would be to go onto dialysis for the rest of my life.

“That would have been four hours, three times a week. Either that or I had to receive a kidney transplant.”

Over the last 20 years, Barrie has been building his company Maintain Property Maintenance Limited. Dialysis was not an option.

“Being a local company this was to have a huge impact on my life, my family and my business,” he continued.

“My kidneys were so diseased that they had grown to the size of melons which left me no room for a transplant.

“This required me to have two separate operations to have them individually removed in order to make space for a transplant, and for me to be able to get onto the transplant list.

“Right from the start my brother David stepped forward and went through the long process to see if he was able to become a living donor.

“After lots of tests and necessary red tape, followed by Covid-19 delays, we were eventually given a date.”

When it comes to kidneys, siblings have a 25 per cent chance of being an ‘exact match’ for a living donor and a 50 per cent chance of being a ‘half-match’.

The transplant at Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth on November 3 was a success.

“When I came round in the recovery room my first words were ‘is it in?’ The answer was yes, so I asked ‘is it working?’ Again, ‘yes’.

“I became very overwhelmed at what my brother had actually done for me, he’s a total legend.”

David, a construction worker who lives in Harestock, said seeing his brother’s health deteriorate was “extremely hard to watch”.

“When I became aware of the option of becoming a living donor it was without question the only way forward,” he told the Chronicle.

“I’m so excited to see Barrie return to good health and live a normal life again.”