This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/03/youngest-baby-uk-transplant-waiting-list-new-heart-charlie-douthwaite
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Youngest baby on UK transplant waiting list gets new heart | Youngest baby on UK transplant waiting list gets new heart |
(35 minutes later) | |
The youngest patient on the UK’s transplant waiting list has had a life-saving heart operation. | The youngest patient on the UK’s transplant waiting list has had a life-saving heart operation. |
A Europe-wide appeal had been launched for Charlie Douthwaite, an eight-week-old baby born with half a heart. The child had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that leaves the left side of the organ underdeveloped. | |
Surgeons performed a nine-hour operation at Newcastle’s Freeman hospital after a donor heart was found within weeks, rather than the months or even years it can take. | Surgeons performed a nine-hour operation at Newcastle’s Freeman hospital after a donor heart was found within weeks, rather than the months or even years it can take. |
His mother, Tracie Waite, thanked the donor family for the “priceless, most precious gift that could ever be given.” | His mother, Tracie Waite, thanked the donor family for the “priceless, most precious gift that could ever be given.” |
“They gave our baby a second chance at life and for that I’ll be forever grateful,” Waite said in a Facebook post. “It felt like a miracle.” | |
Not everyone born with Douthwaite’s condition undergoes a transplant. Only those with complex defects or weakened hearts due to surgery need one. | Not everyone born with Douthwaite’s condition undergoes a transplant. Only those with complex defects or weakened hearts due to surgery need one. |
Charlie’s heart problem was spotted during a routine 20-week pregnancy checkup and doctors performed open heart surgery on him when he was three days old. | |
He went into cardiac arrest on two occasions after the procedure, despite initially having appeared to be recovering well. After a total of 11 operations, doctors deemed that he needed a new heart. | |
Dr Zdenka Reinhardt, a cardiologist at the Freeman hospital, told the BBC he was “extremely lucky [to be alive] considering his condition and his size”. | Dr Zdenka Reinhardt, a cardiologist at the Freeman hospital, told the BBC he was “extremely lucky [to be alive] considering his condition and his size”. |
Charlie was born weighing 2.9kg (6lb 5oz) at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. He is expected to be able to leave hospital in the new year. | |
Just like all other babies who receive a heart transplant, Charlie will have to remain on medication for his whole life to prevent his body potentially rejecting the organ. | |
There are around 6,500 people on the UK transplant waiting list at the moment. Last year nearly 500 people died while waiting for a transplant. | |
Because of the lack of available hearts, which need to be of the appropriate size and blood type, it is often impossible to have a heart transplant as soon as it is required. | Because of the lack of available hearts, which need to be of the appropriate size and blood type, it is often impossible to have a heart transplant as soon as it is required. |
There were more NHS-facilitated transplants than ever before last year. However, the waiting list has nearly trebled in a decade. | There were more NHS-facilitated transplants than ever before last year. However, the waiting list has nearly trebled in a decade. |
The government is set to begin a consultation on moving England to an opt-out system for organ donation, rather than the current opt-in system. This will assume everyone is a donor unless they explicitly reject the idea. | The government is set to begin a consultation on moving England to an opt-out system for organ donation, rather than the current opt-in system. This will assume everyone is a donor unless they explicitly reject the idea. |