Her husband Phoenix, 31, has suffered from a potentially lethal kidney disorder for ten years. This requires him to undergo dialysis three times a week, stick to a strict diet and drink only 750ml of liquid a day.

The operation took place at University Hospital, Coventry on July 29 and Mrs Halliwell now hopes the couple can start to do things many people take for granted.

The 21-year-old of Brunel Close, Whitnash, said: "My focus is Phoenix - everything I do I try to do for the benefit of us as a couple.

"When I first met him he thought I would be shocked by his illness.

"But it never affected us as a couple even though we couldn't do things like go on holiday or go on dates.

"There were times after the operation that the kidney was rejecting and putting Phoenix through pain, but it will be worth it.

"We can now think about starting a family and building a future - we have more opportunities and more possibilities."

Mrs Halliwell first thought about helping her husband a year before they were married when he helped her overcome her fear of needles in May 2007.

She took the tests for the operation last year during her summer off from Sheffield Hallam University, where she is studying to teach food technology.

The couple's blood did not match, but new technology allowed the transplant to take place through a method called plasmapheresis.

Despite the extent of the surgery she was about to have, Mrs Halliwell was only concerned about her husband's welfare.

She said: "In the weeks leading up to it I was a bit nervous - but I kept concentrating on Phoenix as he seemed to be quite ill.

"People said to me they couldn't do what I was about to do but, when you live with someone who has what Phoenix had, you help them any way you can."

Mrs Halliwell hopes her husband could be home in a few days.

Dr Simon Fletcher said: "Phoenix had an antibody incompatible transplant - this means that he had antibodies which originally would have rejected his wife's kidney.

"But thanks to pioneering work here at the trust, we were able to remove those antibodies to prevent the rejection. The transplant went extremely well and we are hoping that soon Phoenix will be discharged from hospital, although we will continue to carefully monitor him for the next few months.

"This sort of transplant was not possible two to three years ago but now we are leading the UK for this.

"It takes a team effort with everyone including the surgeons and nurses to take forward work like this and I am pleased we can continue to lead the way."