Cyclic Hotline
4th Jan 2001, 02:42
Hopefully he got a decent bonus this year?
'Biggles' the pilot donates kidney to save life of his billionaire boss
Roger Maynard
Times of London
The family of Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, said Thursday that it would forever be in the debt of the Briton who saved the billionaire's life by donating a kidney.
Packer's helicopter pilot, Nicholas Ross, 60, gave up one of his kidneys so that his boss could have the life-saving transplant operation.
After having a cancerous kidney removed in 1986, Packer's recent problems with his remaining kidney made a transplant necessary.
Ross, nicknamed "Biggles" by the media magnate and "Nicko" by his friends, has worked for the Packer family for more than two decades.
The English-born pilot is said to revere his boss such that he calls him "father."
Packer regards him so highly in return that he levelled a hill at his country estate to build him a house there.
It is understood that Ross offered to give his kidney to Packer earlier this year when he learned that his was compatible with his employer's.
Surgeons prefer to transplant a kidney from a living donor as they have a greater chance of success.
The Australian renal expert Dr Jeremy Chapman said the average age for a kidney transplant recipient was 45.
He said that at 62, with a history of serious health problems, Packer was undertaking an operation fraught with risks. These include blood loss, infections and rejection of the new organ. But Packer's son, James, said his father was "recovering exceptionally well" after the renal operation.
He said the Packer family would always be very grateful to Ross, whom he described as a close personal friend to his father.
He added that Ross was also recovering well from the operation, and thanked the staff of Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for their work
'Biggles' the pilot donates kidney to save life of his billionaire boss
Roger Maynard
Times of London
The family of Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, said Thursday that it would forever be in the debt of the Briton who saved the billionaire's life by donating a kidney.
Packer's helicopter pilot, Nicholas Ross, 60, gave up one of his kidneys so that his boss could have the life-saving transplant operation.
After having a cancerous kidney removed in 1986, Packer's recent problems with his remaining kidney made a transplant necessary.
Ross, nicknamed "Biggles" by the media magnate and "Nicko" by his friends, has worked for the Packer family for more than two decades.
The English-born pilot is said to revere his boss such that he calls him "father."
Packer regards him so highly in return that he levelled a hill at his country estate to build him a house there.
It is understood that Ross offered to give his kidney to Packer earlier this year when he learned that his was compatible with his employer's.
Surgeons prefer to transplant a kidney from a living donor as they have a greater chance of success.
The Australian renal expert Dr Jeremy Chapman said the average age for a kidney transplant recipient was 45.
He said that at 62, with a history of serious health problems, Packer was undertaking an operation fraught with risks. These include blood loss, infections and rejection of the new organ. But Packer's son, James, said his father was "recovering exceptionally well" after the renal operation.
He said the Packer family would always be very grateful to Ross, whom he described as a close personal friend to his father.
He added that Ross was also recovering well from the operation, and thanked the staff of Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for their work