Cambridgeshire mum donates part of liver to toddler son in life-saving transplant
A mother is now able to enjoy Christmas - and many more Christmases - with her toddler son, after saving his life by donating part of her liver.
Emma Nicholls said she had "no doubts" about doing everything possible to save 21-month-old Teddy.
Teddy was born with a rare inherited condition known as neonatal hemochromatosis, which can cause liver failure in newborns and can be fatal.
Doctors who carried out the surgery said the young boy now “has the opportunity to develop as would be normal for any child”.
He first required a transplant at just 10 weeks old, in April 2022, using part of a liver from a donor who had died.
His mother Mrs Nicholls was not able to donate at the time as it was too soon after she had given birth.
Teddy then needed a second transplant to increase blood flow to survive in the long term.
Mrs Nicholls said: “I knew I wanted to do everything possible to help my son, and as a family we were so thankful to the donor and their family who saved Teddy’s life with his first organ transplant that I had no doubts about stepping in when needed.”
Three weeks after the transplant, Teddy has returned home to Cambridgeshire with his mother to enjoy Christmas with father Greg and five-year-old brother Theo.
Mrs Nicholls added: “Being home and reunited as a family in time for Christmas makes us feel so lucky and grateful to everyone at King’s College Hospital.”
Doctors at King’s College Hospital in London used an innovative technique for both operations, known as "hitch-vein monosegment".
That is when a donor liver – from a person who is dead or alive – is reduced in size to match the dimensions of a baby’s body.
The only alternative would have been to wait for a donated liver from another small baby who had died, which doctors said was “rare”.
Dr Hector Vilca Melendez, consultant transplant surgeon, said: “I’m delighted to see Teddy and Emma doing so well, and thanks to his mother’s donation, Teddy has the opportunity to develop as would be normal for any child.
“Seeing Teddy grow from first meeting soon after birth when he was seriously unwell, to now that he’s a happy and vibrant 21 month-old, is a wonderful tribute to the importance of organ donation and the fantastic work of our team at King’s.”
King’s College Hospital usually sees one or two cases of neonatal hemochromatosis every year.
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