|Transplant Surgeon Mr Yazin Marie holds Lauren's baby at the Sheffield Kidney Institute
A young woman who was gifted a kidney from her mother in a life-changing mother-daughter living organ donation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has given birth to a 'miracle' baby.
Lauren Fox, 30, from Arbourthorne, defied the odds to give birth to a healthy baby boy, Elijah, in August, just six years after her mother stepped in to donate her kidney, restoring her health.
The transplant, which took place in August 2020 at the Sheffield Kidney Institute, a specialist kidney transplant unit at the Northern General Hospital.
Now Lauren has become one of only a handful in the UK to become a mother following living donor kidney transplantation.
Baby Elijah was delivered safely at 37 weeks, weighing just under two kilos (4lbs 50z).
Lauren, who was diagnosed with a condition called IgA nephropathy at the age of eight, where immune proteins get trapped in the kidney filters, causing kidney damage over time, said holding her own baby was "something she never thought possible".
In 2014, aged 18, she was told she would need a transplant at some point in the future, but medication and a restricted diet helped manage her condition for the next few years.
In December 2019 she caught another virus - and this time her kidney function never recovered, meaning a transplant was her only option and she commenced dialysis.
In August 2020 following testing of her mum Alydia, Lauren underwent the transplant.
Lauren recalls going to theatre and jumping on the bed thinking 'go on then, crack on'.
'Life-changing' kidney transplant
|Lauren with her mum and baby Elijah at the Sheffield Kidney Institute just weeks after he was born
Her mum said the transplant had transformed her daughter's life.
"She'd been ill since she was eight years old, it was her normal. But the difference it has made is amazing. I didn't have any repercussions from the transplant, we switched a bit to start with, I had no energy whereas she did, but I was back to work in six weeks, and I've got my daughter and now a grandson."
Lauren agrees the transplant has been transformative:
"The transplant has changed my life massively. I'm not a dweller, but I would be falling asleep in the back of the car when my dad was taking me to work. I missed a lot of school, and I just had no energy. But since the transplant, I've been able to do things I could never have done. I started driving. I have a social life, I've been travelling all over, I went to Canda, and I'm back at work full-time. I have a normal life."
Lauren kept in good health and following a consultation at Jessop Wing, her and her partner, Oliver, decided to start trying for a baby in spring last year.
However, with pregnancy placing an increased strain on the kidneys even in those who do not have transplanted kidneys, the odds were stacked against Lauren and her hopes of having a baby. Aware of the risks, but with her kidney functioning well, she was given the green light from her medical team and decided to go ahead.
Miraculously, she then successfully conceived.
"Time was ticking on, and I never thought I could conceive. I just cried."
Despite the increased risks, Lauren's pregnancy went smoothly and a specialist team of midwives, obstetricians, obstetric physicians and nephrologists monitored her throughout and kept a close eye on her baby.
"Everything was planned with my doctors and the wider team. I kept healthy for most of it, right up until 33 weeks, but in the end my kidney function was dropping so it was safer to get him out at 37 weeks. He came out screaming, which was a positive sign, but his birth weight was a little low though he's really chunky now. My renal surgeon was also in attendance during the labour, in case of any time-critical complications, and they kept a good eye on me. I couldn't fault the care I received."
Alydia said: "It's a miracle. I think if you can be a living donor - just do it. It saved my daughter's life and has given me another grandchild."
Living organ donation
|Sheffield is home to one of the largest renal units in the country and performs around 20 living donor transplantations a year
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is a major centre for kidney transplantation and performs around 60-70 kidney transplantations a year including 20 living donor transplantations a year.
Caroline Basarab-Horwath, Living Donor Coordinator at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It's always a privilege to be part of the living donor recipient's journey and to work so closely with families over such a long period of time. To see families develop is absolutely amazing. Organ donation really is the gift of life, so this Organ Donation Week, please register your decision to donate and share your wishes as giving the gift of life through kidney donation is one of the most generous acts possible."
Mr Yazin Marie, Transplant Surgeon at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who carried out the procedure to implant Lauren's mum's kidney after she donated it to her daughter, said: "I would like to congratulate Lauren on the birth of baby Elijah which is a powerful reminder to all of us that accepting the selfless gift of a live donor organ is not just saving a life but it's also saving and preserving families."
Statistics from NHS Blood and Transplant show that 871 women in the UK transplanted with a kidney have reported a pregnancy since 2000, showing how rare Lauren's case is.
Become a living donor - NHS Organ Donation
Read the Star article here:
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