diff --git a/src/row.rs b/src/row.rs
index 34c591d0..e593dd2f 100644
--- a/src/row.rs
+++ b/src/row.rs
@@ -384,14 +384,23 @@ impl Row {
     where
         R: FromSql<'a>,
         I: QueryIdx,
+    {
+        let data = self.get_column_data(idx)?;
+
+        R::from_sql(data)
+    }
+
+    /// Retrieve a column's data for a given column index.
+    #[track_caller]
+    pub fn get_column_data<'a, I>(&'a self, idx: I) -> crate::Result<&'a ColumnData<'static>>
+    where
+        I: QueryIdx,
     {
         let idx = idx.idx(self).ok_or_else(|| {
             Error::Conversion(format!("Could not find column with index {}", idx).into())
         })?;
 
-        let data = self.data.get(idx).unwrap();
-
-        R::from_sql(data)
+        Ok(self.data.get(idx).unwrap())
     }
 }