Jonah's priceless gift from a friend

By STEPHEN COOK

Throughout his time as a Lotto presenter Grant Kereama gave millions away.

But to the man who pretty much had everything money could buy, he gave the most precious gift of all - the chance of a healthy life, and the chance for Jonah Lomu to return to the game he dominated for much of the 1990s.

For Kereama the decision to give Lomu one of his kidneys was a simple one.

"I had two kidneys and I am in great health. Jonah was not well and was in need of one. It was very simple for me."

Yesterday the 91ZM radio host and former Lotto frontman was identified as the man who gave a kidney to the ailing rugby star.

Lomu and 37-year-old Kereama had wanted to keep their pact secret but decided to go public after word leaked out of Kereama's identity.

"We are disappointed that this has become public," Kereama said.

"It's a very private pact between Jonah and I. I don't think it is for others to judge or comment on.

"Jonah has been through an enormous ordeal and we just want him to be able to recuperate quietly and out of the public eye."

Unbeknown to many, even those in Lomu's close rugby circle, the pair had been "great friends" for three years.

"I didn't even know they knew each other," Lomu's close friend Eric Rush said yesterday.

Lomu spokeswoman Bridget Abernethy said the pair had a relationship outside rugby.

She was unsure how the relationship started, but said they had been great friends for a few years.

"Obviously Grant made the big decision to support Jonah. So there is a strong friendship there."

Ms Abernethy said Lomu was feeling very disappointed that Kereama's identity had been revealed as he wanted to protect his friend's privacy. Although there was a feeling it was perhaps inevitable that Kereama's identity would be disclosed, the pair had hoped they would have had more time to recuperate before having to deal with the publicity.

Kereama was discharged from hospital last Friday and is due to return to work on Monday with the ZM Morning Crew, which includes wife Pauline Gillespie.

Radio Network general manager Gordon McTavish would not comment but Kereama's immediate boss, ZM programme director Christian Boston, said that what his employee had done for Lomu "sums him up".

Lomu was released from hospital on Sunday and is expected to be housebound for several weeks.

Ms Abernethy said he was resting comfortably and doctors were very pleased with his progress.

"He is much better now that he is at home in his own environment," she said.

She was not sure when Kereama offered the 29-year-old former All Black a kidney, but confirmed testing for compatibility began in February.

"It was an incredibly simple decision for Grant. I suppose that is the measure of the man," she said.

Kereama shot to fame in the 90s as the host of Lotto. In 1996 after reports in the Truth newspaper that he hadhad an affair with a waitress during a holiday in Washington, Kereama quit as host and he and Gillespie declared their love for each other in the pages of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

The following year Kereama was fined $400 after pleading guilty to four charges of failing to file tax returns for the years 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

Last year the keen amateur bodybuilder took to the ring in the Fight For Life boxing fundraiser where he lost to fellow DJ Nick Trott from rival station The Rock.

Fight For Life organiser Dean Lonergan yesterday described Kereama as one of the most generous human beings on the planet. "He is a very fun guy. What an incredible person."

About a third of kidney transplant patients find their own donor. Last year at Auckland Hospital 65 transplants were performed and 23 of those were from live donors.

Professor John Morton, a former surgeon in charge of kidney transplants at Christchurch Hospital, told the Herald last week that while the risk to the donor of dying from surgery was "absolutely remote" the donor needed to be aware of other risks, which included wound infection and blood clots.

Neither Kereama nor Gillespie returned calls asking for an interview yesterday.