THE remarkable legacy of last year's Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Alan Wilkinson, is helping kidney patients now and in the future.

Cllr Wilkinson not only dedicated part of his Mayor's Charity cash to kidney patients, but also pledged to boost kidney donor registrations by 2,001 by the end of his mayoral year.

He far exceeded this latter total . . . to the tune of 7,100 new donors.

The charity funds brought in a cheque for £16,000 for kidney research being carried out at the Manchester Institute of Nephrology and Transplantation (MINT) Laboratories, based at the Manchester Royal Infirmary.

A MINT spokesman praised Cllr Wilkinson's efforts. He said: "Everybody at MINT, both clinical and laboratory staff and patients, are very grateful to him for his tremendous support and understanding."

Cllr Wilkinson and his wife Denise were also able to see the results of some of their work at first-hand when they visited Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The appeal also raised funds for a new hydraulic bed on the hospital's kidney transplant ward, and they met patient Basim Shakouri, who had a transplant just a few days earlier.

He was able to confirm that the bed was extremely comfortable -- a very important factor for patients confined to their beds for a time during recovery.

Cllr Wilkinson said he had been "delighted" with the way the campaign had gone throughout the year, raising awareness as well as cash and recruiting new donors.

He said: "I would like to thank our family and friends who have helped us, and everyone in Bolton who came along to the events to support us.

"We never thought the campaign would do as well as it has done, and we are certainly pleased."

Now, although Cllr Wilkinson has a busy programme as deputy mayor this year, he has pledged to continue working to boost kidney donation.

"We are planning a one-off mass campaign for later in the year," he said.