THE DEVASTATED family of a teenager who underwent a failed kidney transplant operation have lodged a 16-page complaint with the hospital.

And officials have launched an investigation into the case of Sarah Coupe, 16.

Sarah, of Spring Meadows, Clayton-le-Moors, underwent a five hour operation at St James' Hospital, Leeds, in February only to discover three weeks later that the operation had not worked.

Her family was told that blood was not reaching the new kidney and it had to be removed.

Now her mother Karen has made allegations about the way that she was monitored and cared for.

Karen who, along with husband Michael, works at Accrington and Rossendale College, believes that the kidney should not have failed.

She said: "Sarah should never have lost that kidney, there was no problem with the match and there was no problem with the kidney."

Sarah was born with one kidney and a hole in her heart and is back at home on dialysis.

The family have had some good news after tests revealed that Karen is a near-perfect match to donate one of her kidneys to her daughter.

She is now preparing to have the operation -- which they hope will take place in March.

Karen believes that her suitability as a donor should have been picked up by the hospital when the transplant process began four years ago.

A spokesman for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said the complaint had been received.

He said: "We are investigating the complaint and we intend to be in a position to answer it in the next 20 working days, as is NHS policy."