Young Teddy may have lived only a couple of hours, but his kidneys will hopefully live for many years after he became the youngest kidney donor in the UK.
Mike Houlston and Jess Evans were residents of Cardiff. Last year, Evans got pregnant with twins, but early on with her pregnancy, she found out that one of her babies was severely sick with anencephaly wherein the brain and skull did not mature. This means that unless he underwent abortion, the baby would still end up dying stillborn, if not for only a few minutes or hours.
Evans and Houlston decided to take the high road and continue with the pregnancy. They have also considered donating his organs, something Evans has considered a very important thing for anyone to do ever since she was young.
By April 22, she gave birth to a baby boy they named Teddy. Two hours after, he died, and his kidneys were immediately harvested to be used by a young adult who currently lives in Leeds.
The journey to organ donation, however, was not smooth-sailing. Initially, they received a no from the doctors as it is very rare for children to be considered as donors, more so if it is a newborn. Moreover, harvesting organs from a baby with anencephaly was unheard of.
At first, the parents were disappointed until they heard the news that it may be possible after all. To make sure that the baby would be capable of being a donor, especially a kidney donor, he was closely monitored, especially a few hours before and after his birth. Transplant was then performed a few minutes after his passing.
The idea that their little one may actually live on at least in somebody else's body gave them a sense of joy and helped them deal with his loss.
