All Black legend Lomu needs new kidney

13 Feb 2012, 11:26 am   -   Source: AAP
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Former All Black Jonah Lomu is on dialysis again and needs a new kidney after a transplant he got eight years ago failed.

New Zealand's hulking former All Black winger Jonah Lomu needs a new kidney after medical tests showed a transplant he received in 2004 had failed.

The 36-year-old told the New Zealand Woman's Weekly that treatment had not been successful and he was undergoing dialysis to stop his renal system shutting down.

He received a kidney donated by radio host Grant Kereama after he was diagnosed in 1995 with nephrotic syndrome but during the Rugby World Cup last year he was admitted to hospital after it started to fail.

"Unfortunately none of the treatment has worked, my kidney is exactly the same as it was when I first got sick," Lomu said.

He has lost 30kg since his health issues returned last September and told the magazine that a second transplant would be more problematic than his first.

"I know I was fortunate to get the first transplant but there are more difficulties this time around," he said.

"The match will be harder and the process of finding a suitable donor is difficult. The chances of my body rejecting this kidney are higher too."

Lomu has been spending time with his sons Brayley and Dhyreille and is exercising to be in good shape for a transplant. He remains upbeat.

"I'm really lucky, I've already lived more in one lifetime than many would in six or seven lifetimes," he said.

"The thing about being human is that everybody has to die sometime. For me, the important thing is to ask 'can you look in the mirror and say you done everything to enjoy life?'."

Lomu shot to fame in the 1995 World Cup when he trampled over England in a four-try performance in the semi-final.

He played 63 Tests in an international career which stretched from 1994-2002, scoring 37 tries.

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