"Donating a Kidney to My Mom Was Worth It, But After Three Kids, My Tummy Needed a Makeover – Here’s How It Changed My Life!"

SARAH Ross has never regretted donating a kidney to her late mother, but she says undergoing the procedure and having three children came at a cost – an embarrassing “front bottom”.

For 17 years, the 44-year-old’s unusually shaped stomach left her feeling ashamed to embark on new relationships and unwilling to wear bikinis on holiday, until she felt surgery was the only option. She tells how a revolutionary £15,000 has transformed her life and how her beloved mum made it possible.

Sarah was ashamed of her ‘front bottom’ and refused to wear a bikiniCredit: Supplied Sarah always felt self-conscious about the ‘prominent cleft’ in her stomach, but with the help of her inheritance, she was able to have surgeryCredit: The Plastic Surgery Group Sarah Ross donated her kidney to her mum before treating herself to a tummy tuckCredit: Supplied

Sarah, from Cambridgeshire, was overjoyed at getting rid of the prominent cleft on her stomach she called a “front bottom”.

She says: “The difference having the surgery has made to me both mentally and physically is incredible.

“When the swelling died down, I thought: ‘Hell yeah, my stomach looks 100 per cent better’.

“My mum always thought I was beautiful; she’d have told me I was being stupid to want the operation, but I know she’d also be pleased for me.”

Sarah cannot remember a time before her mother, Anne Driver, had kidney problems.

She says: “She was poorly since I could remember – she had kidney failure not long after I was born, I believe.

“I remember one of the bedrooms in our house was like a hospital room, so she didn’t have to go and dialyse at the hospital all the time.

“She had three cadaveric kidney donors, the organs lasted for varying lengths of time, and by the time I was 24, and at university, she needed another one.”

Accounting for between 70 and 80 per cent of kidney , cadaveric donors are healthy organs from people who have recently passed away.

When Anne’s third kidney began to fail, doctors suggested for the first time that she consider a donation from a suitable relative instead.

Living are generally thought to show better patient outcomes, including higher long-term survival rates and long-term function of the organs.

Key factors for a successful match with a parent, sibling, cousin or similar are blood group and tissue type compatibility.

“I offered to donate one of my kidneys instantly, despite Mum’s protests, I insisted,” says Sarah.

“She wasn’t happy, she told me: ‘You’re not doing it’ but I talked her round.

“Aged 25 when I had the operation and with a daughter of my own, I was healthy and I knew I could survive with just one healthy kidney.

“I was a perfect match so we went ahead with the surgery in 2008.”

The mum-of-three admits the procedure was a lot, saying: “I think I went in there being a bit too ballsy and woke up feeling like: ‘Oh s**t, what have I done?’.

“Only because it hurt, I didn’t regret what I’d done but it knocks you for six.”

The operation went well and Anne lived for 12 more years with her newly functioning kidney, losing her life to an unrelated condition, , in 2020 aged 64.

She was just 25 and had her own daughter when she had her kidney removedCredit: Supplied Her mum lived for an extra 12 years after Sarah donated her kidneyCredit: Supplied Sarah’s husband has supported Sarah through her surgeryCredit: Supplied

Already mum to Paige, 22, Sarah went on to have Harry, 14, and Eva, 8, with two natural births followed by a caesarian.

The combination of the transplant operation and giving birth to her three kids left her with a prominent cleft in her .

“I had a fold from my belly button to my pubic bone which gave it a bottom-like appearance,” says Sarah.

“It was there ever since my operation with Mum and going through pregnancies, gaining weight, losing weight and all that, made it more prominent.

“I was very self-conscious of it, it was always an issue if I got into a relationship, I was so ashamed.

A gift from beyond the grave

“It impacted my confidence and meant I would never have dreamed of wearing a .”

Sarah has been with her husband Matthew, 40, for seven years and married for three, adding: “Even though my husband said to me: ‘I think you’re beautiful and I think your body’s beautiful’, at the end of the day anyone can tell you that but it’s how you feel about yourself, isn’t it?”

A few years ago, one of Sarah’s cleaning clients had lost a lot of weight and gone on to have a 360 tummy tuck or circumferential abdominoplasty, which sees excess skin and fat removed from around the entire waistline.

“I remember speaking to her about it and thinking: ‘Oh God, I wish I could afford that’,” says Sarah.

Little did she know the would soon become affordable – all thanks to her late mum’s closest pal.

“My mum’s best friend Jenny Cooper didn’t have any family, we were her family,” explains the cleaner.

“We called her Aunty Jenny and when she died in August 2024 she left her whole estate to my younger sister Elise, 29, and I.

“The inheritance had been due to go to my mum and Jenny had changed the will when she passed away, so the money felt like a gift from my mum too.

“It’s like creating an invisible corset inside the body.

Dr Mo Akhavani, Surgeon

“We got a lump sum each after probate and there was no doubt in my mind where some of my money was going.”

Sarah knew the exact surgeon she wanted – her cleaning client’s doctor Dr Mo Akhavani at The Plastic Surgery Group.

Dr Akhavani suggested a ‘corset’ tummy tuck plus 360 liposuction to remove the fat from her abdomen area, telling The Sun:
“After pregnancy, weight loss and earlier surgery, Sarah needed a more tailored tummy tuck than most.

“I used my refined ‘internal corset’ approach to support and tighten the abdomen from the inside, while improving the contour on the outside.

“We plan the incision so the final scar sits low, as close as possible to the bikini/underwear line.

“Through that lower incision, we access the deeper layer and perform a strong, layered repair to restore core support – essentially creating the effect of an invisible corset inside.

“In cases like Sarah’s, where a scar has tethered the skin and created a cleft, we also release and rebalance the pull so the surface can lie smoother and more even.

“Once the internal repair is secure, we remove excess skin and, when appropriate, combine this with liposuction to refine shape and symmetry.”

The recovery was hard: I had to sleep on my back for about a month, which was horrendous

Sarah Ross

Dr Akhavani and Sarah are thrilled with the results of the three hour, £14,995 operation on November 25, which saw her wear a compression garment for six weeks afterwards to support healing and reduce swelling, with sessions three times a week too.

“I walked myself into the theatre, lay down and next thing I remember is waking up freezing cold,” she says.

“The recovery was hard – the pressure it puts on your back is something else because you’ve had a big chunk of your stomach cut off and you can’t stand up straight.

“I had to sleep on my back for about a month, which was horrendous.”

Sarah was discharged from Dr Akhavani’s care on January 23, calling him a ‘magician’ for restoring her toned tum.

“My stomach looks and feels amazing,” she says.

“I always had muscle under the sag and I’ve started working out again to build up my strength.

“Now I’ve got this body I don’t want to lose it.”

Sarah and sister Elise are taking a trip to America next month, a place Jenny had always wanted to take them, with more of her inheritance.

“For the first time in decades I can’t wait to wear a bikini on holiday,” she smiles.

“It’s all thanks to my Aunty Jenny and it feels like a gift from my mum, too.”

Sarah had two large flaps of skin removed from her tummyCredit: Supplied She said that for the first time ever she feels confident to wear a bikini on holidayCredit: Supplied Sarah is happy with her new tummyCredit: Supplied Sarah’s mum was due an inheritance, but after she tragically passed away, it all went to Sarah – which she said felt like a giftCredit: Supplied Her mum’s best friend Jenny left money to Sarah in her willCredit: Supplied