A woman who received a kidney transplant from her father 14 years ago is raising cash for a research charity.

Susan McAteer, 37, from Great Glen, got a kidney from dad Ian just weeks after she graduated from university in 1998.

The live transplant – which was quite revolutionary at the time – gave her "a new lease of life" after two years of daily dialysis treatment.

She will be cycling 300 miles from Staines, in Surrey, where she works for a pharmaceutical company, to Land's End, in July, with 10 work colleagues, raising cash for Kidney Research UK.

"I'm one of those people that just gets on with things but it was really tough before the transplant," said Susan.

"I was always absolutely exhausted and having to have the dialysis all the time was really restrictive.

"In the end, I was able to do it myself at home while I was sleeping but I wasn't allowed to get up the next morning, until it was done."

Susan needed a transplant after she was diagnosed with lupus – a condition which causes the immune system to attack healthy parts of the body – in Susan's case, her kidneys.

She endured daily dialysis throughout her time at university in Dundee, where she was studying chemistry.

Her mother June had to move from the family home in Cambridge to help care for her daughter, who had to have a very restricted diet.

Susan's parents both secretly underwent tests to see if they could be donors and her dad Ian was chosen.

"The change in me following the operation was absolutely amazing – I was a different person, with so much more energy and a new lease of life," said Susan. "I ate a lot of chocolate and pineapples – that was what I had craved most. It was amazing to be able to do normal things again, and I felt like I was at last back to my old self."

Susan and her team of cyclists start their challenge on July 4, hoping to cycle between 60 and 90 miles day, completing their journey on July 7. She said: "I wanted to do something for Kidney Research UK, because they do so much to support research – things I would have benefited from, had I been having my operation today."

Anyone interested in sponsoring Susan can visit:

www.kidneyresearchuk events.org/kidneypedalers300

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