Soldier saves sick pal’s life by donating a kidney after he collapsed during training course

A SOLDIER saved a former comrade’s life by offering his sick pal a kidney.

Crispin D’Apice donated his organ to help Paul Baines.

Claudia Baines Photo & Video

Claudia Baines Photo & Video

The pair served together in the Coldstream Guards in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan — where Paul won a Military Cross.

Lt Col D’Apice, 47, known as Daps, said: “Paul was a comrade who needed a hand. It felt like an instinctive thing to do.

“We weren’t friends so much as comrades, and that is something stronger.”

Former Warrant Officer Paul, 49, said: “He saved my life, without a doubt. It has completely changed my life.”

Paul got the Military Cross for saving a comrade’s life in Helmand in 2009.

He left the Army in 2015 after collapsing on a training course and later found he had kidney disease.

Daps, in the Army Reserves in Okehampton, heard of Paul’s condition from pals.

He said: “I thought, ‘That’s crap, he needs a kidney’.

“We’re both in Devon. It made sense for me to do something. It was a split-second decision.”

Dad-of-two Paul added: “When Daps called me, I was gobsmacked.”

Although the pair were compatible, medics used a scheme to better match donors and recipients.

Daps’ kidney went to a third party, and Paul got one from someone else.

But he said: “Even though I was part of a chain, I feel like I have Daps’ kidney. I feel Daps is a part of me now.”