‘A gift I can’t repay’ – McDonald on playing with brother’s kidney

“There are no words in this world to describe how grateful I am for this unbelievable gesture,” wrote Exeter City midfielder Kevin McDonald on social media following a kidney transplant.

“You have given me a gift that I can never repay. I am forever thankful, I love you.”

When McDonald urgently needed a kidney for a vital transplant, his older brother Fraser offered his.

The former Scotland international, who served Burnley and Fulham in the Premier League, believes he would not have been able to resume his playing career but for his sibling.

In fact, he says the outcome could have been much worse had Fraser not stepped forward.

“You can class the transplant as life-saving because it is,” McDonald, 37, tells BBC Sport.

“I will forever be grateful to Fraser. I’d have done the same for him, but the main thing is we’re both here and we’re as healthy as possible.”

On Saturday, McDonald is hoping to feature in League One Exeter’s FA Cup third-round tie at Manchester City.

Fraser will be among 7,800 Exeter fans at Etihad Stadium cheering on his brother as the Devon club look to surprise the seven-time winners.

“I’m massively proud of my brother,” Fraser, 40, says.

“He has done incredible really, even more so after the kidney operation.

McDonald was first diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease that attacks the kidneys, after a medical at Burnley in 2008.

High levels of protein were discovered in his urine and from that moment he knew he would need a transplant in the future.

Despite the discovery, McDonald was able to manage the condition and enjoy an impressive playing career.

He made 41 Premier League appearances, played five times for Scotland, and celebrated promotions with Burnley (2009), Wolves (2014) and Fulham (2018 and 2020).

Soon after Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League in 2020 his condition deteriorated. By 2021 the 6ft 4in (1.93m) player was left with only one working kidney, which was functioning at just 10%.

Having hoped to delay the transplant until his career was over, the disease had advanced to a point where McDonald, then aged 32, needed to act.

“I remember the phone call [from the hospital] so clearly,” adds McDonald.

“It was along the lines of: ‘we really need to get this done’ and ‘you seriously need to think about retiring’.

“I was at Fulham and I had the chance to go out on loan to a couple of clubs. There was even interest from a club in China.

Figures show 12,000 people nationally have lost their lives waiting for an organ transplant in the past decade.

With the need for a transplant more pressing, it was McDonald’s brother, Fraser, who stepped forward to donate a kidney after discovering he was an ideal match.

“I remember thinking: ‘let’s do this, I need to protect my younger brother’,” Fraser tells BBC Sport.

The McDonald brothers were raised in the Scottish coastal town of Carnoustie, famed for its golf course, where Fraser, a firefighter, still lives with his wife and children.

“Growing up, Kev and I were close,” he says. “Both of us were mad for football, there was a good bit of fighting [between us] but I’d say it was a close relationship.”

McDonald laughs when he recalls the childhood fights with his sibling.

“I’d try and tease him in front of his mates and he would batter me.

“I was really tall and skinny and, when it came to football, more technical. He was the opposite, running around the pitch, tackling and smashing people.”

McDonald’s kidney transplant took place at Guy’s Hospital, London, and was anything but straightforward.

Despite his brother being an ideal match, McDonald suffered a significant rejection and spent eight hours a day on a drip.

He was eventually discharged after 18 days but his worries were not over.

Nonetheless, McDonald has nothing but praise for the support he received from Fulham while he was seriously ill.

He spent five years at the club and when his contract expired Fulham released a statement describing him “as one of our most universally popular players in recent years” and a “phenomenal leader on the pitch”.

While in hospital, he received hundreds of messages of support from football fans.

“So many people reached out, from people back in Carnoustie to Jose Mourinho,” says McDonald.

What did Mourinho say?

“He called me ‘big boy McDonald from Fulham’. He said something like: ‘he’s won many fights on the pitch and he’ll win this next fight [kidney transplant]’.”

McDonald did just that.

Nine months after leaving hospital, he signed a short-team deal with Dundee United before joining Exeter in 2023.

He spent 2023-24 at Bradford City but has since re-signed for Exeter, where he is using his vast knowledge and experience to help some of the club’s younger players.

His brother could not be prouder.

“All the games Kev gets to play now, it means so much more,” adds Fraser.

“He scored Exeter’s winner at Lincoln in October. These moments are big memories now.

“Every single time he gets to go out on the pitch, it’s about making memories. After the operation, everything else is a bonus.”

The brothers are closer than ever, with McDonald describing the feeling of playing with his brother’s kidney inside him as “mad, a bit mental”.

“His kidney’s part of my life now,” he said in an interview with Fulham’s website in 2022.

Fraser has not seen his brother since October.

This weekend he is making the 600-mile round-trip from Carnoustie to Etihad Stadium in the hope of watching him play against Manchester City.

The venue holds fond memories for McDonald, who scored Burnley’s equaliser there in a 3-3 draw in 2009.

He has featured 11 times in League One for Exeter this season – all as a substitute.

McDonald has been nursing a minor strain but hopes to get some minutes against City.

“At my age, I understand my role and I understand my body. I cannot play Saturday-Tuesday, that’s just how it is,” adds the veteran.

Whatever happens on Saturday, the two brothers are determined to enjoy the day.

“I’ll imagine we’ll meet up for a beer after the game,” says McDonald, who presumably will be paying.