A comedian whose father has had two kidney transplants is putting on a charity gig to raise money for research into the disease.

Brian Gracey’s son Jonathan will be one of several comics performing on Thursday night in Islington to aid research into combating kidney disease, which affects three in every hundred people.

Mr Gracey, 59, of Gordon Road in Chingford, hopes the performances will raise over £3,000 for Kidney Research UK.

The retired HSBC banker was first diagnosed with the illness at the age of 24, and has since had two life-saving transplants.

But he spent three years on dialysis in 2008, when the kidney donated to him by his mother failed and he was forced to wait until August 2011 for a match.

He said: “I was meant to be travelling for work but I couldn’t go when they did a health check-up on me.

“I was lucky they spotted it – if I had gone over there it could’ve been much worse.”

His kidneys were working at half capacity and he was put on medication to slow down their deterioration until 1988, when he was forced to take action.

His mother’s kidney lasted him 13 years.

Mr Gracey said: “Before a transplant it was pure exhaustion. I would struggle to walk from my house to the station without getting breathless.

“The body doesn’t get rid of fluid so your ankles and legs swell up and you want to sleep all the time.”

When the kidney failed in 2008 Mr Gracey spent three years visiting Whipps Cross three days a week to spend hours on its dialysis machine while doctors looked for a suitable blood and tissue match.

But he said: “It wasn’t pleasant but it’s better than the alternative. However it did mean I had to leave work, it wasn’t fair on me or the other guys.”

His experience has convinced him, his wife Linda, and his sons to carry donor cards.

Mr Gracey said: “I was very fortunate to get my second kidney from a cadaver. Your organs aren’t any good to you once you’re gone, but of course people aren’t rational about these things.”

The donation allows him to be able to see his son’s comedy group The Beta Males perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to five-starred reviews.

Jonathan, 27, said: "My parents are some of our most ardent supporters, it's great. We're really looking forward to the show and the group's slipped a couple of new pieces in for my dad.

"The comedians are doing this for free which is incredibly kind of them. I hope it raises a lot of money and promotes more awareness of kidney disease."

They and other acts will perform at the Pleasance Theatre at 8pm on Thursday.

Tickets are still available on 0207 609 1800 or at www.pleasance.co.uk/islington/events.