DEVOTED mum Judith Howells is giving daughter the greatest gift of all - the chance of a healthy life.

Nineteen-year-old Rhian desperately needs a kidney transplant and her mum is the perfect match.

The pair, from Vine Cottages, Caerleon, find out later this month when the operation can finally take place.

Rhian told the Argus: "On the one hand I was really pleased it could go ahead but, on the other, I'm more concerned about my mum.

"I have to have it and she doesn't. I don't want her to get sick or be ill at all. She's amazing."

Her mother endured three months of rigorous medical checks to make sure she was healthy enough to donate.

She said: "If there was anything at all wrong with me, they found have found it. I had CT scans, an ECG - the lot."

Thankfully, last month Mrs Howells, 39, was given the thumbs up.

Rhian said: "I'm sort of looking forward to it but then there's that part of me worried about mum."

A former Caerleon Comprehensive pupil, Rhian was just nine when doctors found she had kidney scarring.

"She was suffering with very high blood pressure, feeling very sick and had bad headaches," Mrs Howells said.

"It was obvious there was something really wrong."

Doctors discovered Rhian's kidneys were not working properly - one at 50% and the other at 25% - and believed it was caused by an infection which had gone undetected.

They hoped Rhian's kidney tissue would repair itself as she grew up and she was put on a year's course of antibiotics.

But Mrs Howells said: "Over the years her kidneys just wore out and there's been a gradual decline."

Then, aged 13, Rhian took a turn for the worse and doctors discussed the likelihood of a transplant.

"Since then we've known it was going to happen but we didn't think it would be until she was 30 or 40," Mrs Howells said.

Throughout her teens, Rhian has been warding off infection with daily doses of medication.

Rhian went on holiday to Crete with her girlfriends in July - but fell ill at the start of her holiday and ended up in hospital.

Her kidneys are now only working at 20%. If they drop below that, she will need dialysis.

She is now taking a gap year and will have time to recover before she goes away to art college next year.

But the pair know the road ahead is a long one.

Mrs Howells said: "Rhian's body could reject my kidney or she could become unwell. The operation is really just the start of it."

* To find out more about kidney donation call 0845 6060400.