A MOTHER has saved her York son’s life by giving him one of her kidneys.

Liam McLaughlin-Ventress needed powerful medication and dialysis 12 hours every night just to stay alive when doctors revealed he could undergo a transplant from his mother Jane McLaughlin.

They said a procedure called plasma exchange could be used to overcome antibodies which had previously prevented her becoming a donor.

Now, three weeks after the op at St James’ Hospital in Leeds Liam, 20, of Cherry Wood Crescent, Fulford, is looking and feeling better than at any time in his life.

He was even well enough to drive over to Leeds for his latest check-ups this week.

“It’s fantastic,” said his mother. “His condition was deteriorating before, but now people are gob-smacked by how well he looks.”

Liam said: “I used to get very tired and out of breath, but am now feeling much better.”

Jane, 46, said when doctors told her they were now able to perform the transplant she did not hesitate to accept the offer. “It was a no-brainer,” she said.

“All his life I have been unable to help him get better and now I had a chance. I knew I would still have one perfectly healthy kidney. There was no hesitation at all.”

She underwent tests and was also interviewed to check she was not under coercion to agree to the transplant.

She said she had developed a post-operative infection which required antibiotics and daily treatment by a district nurse, but she had no regrets whatsover about going ahead with the transplant.

The Press reported earlier this year how Liam had been ill since birth and had undergone two kidney transplants from patients who had died, in 2002 and 2006, both of which had failed. He also suffered from deafness after being on 100 per cent oxygen for a long time as a baby.

Jane said the prospects of success with her kidney were marginally better than with a transplant from a dead donor. She said it was the last transplant Liam could undergo as things stood at the moment.

Liam said the fact that he had been able to have a transplant from his mother did not detract from the desperate need for more people to join the Organ Donor Register.

He reiterated his support for The Press’ Lifesavers campaign, aimed at preventing needless deaths by persuading 20,000 extra potential donors to join the register before the end of the year.

He urged anyone thinking of becoming a donor, but who was unsure what to do, to visit organdonation.nhs.org and see how they could change someone’s life.


Campaign for more donors

THE Press launched its Lifesavers campaign in December following the death of 22-year-old Miss York finalist Emma Young, who suffered from cystic fibrosis and died while awaiting a double lung transplant.

Thousands of people in our region have joined the Organ Donor Register since we launched our campaign, but many thousands more are needed. Our aim is to recruit 20,000 new donors from our circulation area by the end of this year.

For more information on organ donation or to join the register:

· Phone 0300 1232323

· Visit organdonation.nhs.uk

· Text SAVE to 84118.