Baby's organ donation brings some solace for parents

The first organ donation from a newborn baby in the UK has taken place.

The donation of the baby's kidneys and cells from the liver took place at Hammersmith hospital in west London recently, with medics claiming there is potential for more successful transplants.

The baby girl was born by emergency Caesarean section weighing 6.8 lbs but died soon after birth.

The kidneys and hepatocytes - the main cells in the liver - were transplanted from the baby girl to two separate patients.

Dr Gaurav Atreja from the Division of Neonatology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said there was "significant potential for donation among the UK neonatal population that is not being realised".

ITV News Health Editor Rachel Younger reports:

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Dr Atreja praised the courage of the parents who recognised that they had helped create a positive legacy from the tragedy.

"This family had a positive perspective towards the process," he said.

"They could see that they had gained something positive after the difficult experience."

Other research published in the journal last year said small babies in need of organ donations have "the odds stacked against them" because of current UK guidelines.

Guidance by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges restricts UK medics from diagnosing brain stem death in children who die before they are two months old, researchers said.

Experts from Great Ormond Street Hospital, who said a diagnosis of brain stem death is the most common scenario for successful organ donation, noted that the restriction is in contrast to the rest of Europe, the United States and Australia, where medics are able to diagnose death in younger babies using brain criteria.

Because of this limitation, a UK baby in need of a life saving heart donation - where only small newborn hearts are suitable for transplant - needs to wait until a donation is flown in from somewhere else in Europe.

It is expected a review of the guidelines will be undertaken by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health this year.