A BBC newsreader from Stroud has donated his kidney to save his mother’s life.

Sabet Choudhury, who presents BBC Points West, said his mum Sakina faced 10 years on the transplant list because of a shortage of black or Asian donors. Her prognosis gave her three years to live.

Sakina felt as though she was waiting to die while spending 15 hours a week on a dialysis machine.

Sabet said: “I was only a few clicks from finding people who would sell their kidneys.”

Luckily he successfully donated his kidney in November, giving Sakina, 70, a new lease of life. Both are now fully recovered from their operations.

Sabet, a former Wycliffe College student, found just one per cent of those on the donor list in Britain are of black or Asian origin, leading to an acute shortage of organs.

He is now calling on ethnic minorities to donate more organs.

Sabet explained: “There are no cultural or religious blocks. Asian people need to open up. If you are willing to accept a kidney, you should be willing to donate a kidney.

“Seeing my mother looking nearly 10 years younger is the best medicine I’ve had for all the pain and fatigue I experienced. ”

But he knows not everyone has the option of donating: “This made me understand why some people go abroad and do this – sometimes illegally.”