I was given a kidney by my mum AND my dad

I was given a kidney by my mum AND my dad

By Laura Topham
Last updated at 12:28 AM on 28th October 2008

The remarkable story of how a boy born with chronic renal failure has been given a new lease of life after his mum, and then his dad, donated him one of their kidneys

The first thing Sarah Lesquerre saw on the scan of her unborn baby was a black shape inside the foetus that looked terrifyingly like a large hole.

As the nurse rushed off to find a consultant, Sarah gripped her husband Eric's hand and the couple quietly vowed to do everything they could to protect their precious son, who was later born with chronic renal failure.

But unlike many parents who frustratedly wish they could help their sick child, years later the couple were able to fulfil that promise: when Quentin's kidneys stopped working, both Sarah and Eric became living donors and gave him the lifesaving organs he desperately needed.
Precious gift: Quentin Lesquerre is able to lead a normal life thanks to the kidney donations from both his mum Sarah and dad Eric

Precious gift: Quentin Lesquerre is able to lead a normal life thanks to the kidney donations from both his mother Sarah and father Eric

Watching Quentin, now 15, sitting in his parents' North London home, it is hard to comprehend that only a few months ago he underwent the second transplant to have his father's kidney. Last year his body had begun rejecting his one working kidney, which his mother had donated just before his seventh birthday.

'It is incredible that we have been able to keep giving Quentin the gift of life,' says Sarah, 42. 'When your child gets ill you want to be able to do something, anything, so I actually feel lucky to have lost my kidney - lucky in that I was able to give it to my son.'

For Quentin - who has been in and out of hospital since birth - the effects have been incredible. 'For the first time in my life, I feel like I want to run around,' he says. 'Friends find it strange that I now have four kidneys inside me, but the only thing I notice is feeling better.'

As failed kidneys are not removed, Quentin kept his mother's, along with his own ineffective organs which had been damaged in the womb.

The black blob on the scan turned out to be urine amassing in the bladder, trapped by blocked urethral valves.

High risk

Doctors removed some liquid, by inserting a needle through Sarah's stomach, but the high-risk procedure was too dangerous to repeat. As the pregnancy progressed, daily scans showed the 'black hole' growing larger as more urine accumulated - until it was eventually forced back upwards into the kidneys, severely injuring them.

Quentin was induced at 34 weeks, as soon as his lungs were strong enough to breathe unaided, but by then his bladder had become distended and his kidney function irrevocably impaired. He was born weighing just 4lb.

His parents were told Quentin would require constant medication and, eventually, a kidney transplant.

'It was a huge shock,' says Eric, 45. 'The consultant said a parent could probably donate, so we clung to that hope, and as his own kidneys were expected to function through childhood, we put it to the back of our minds.'
Highlighted kidneys. Image shot 2008. Exact date unknown.

Quentin was born with chronic renal failure and needed kidney donations from both his mother and father

After six weeks in St Mary's Hospital, London, Quentin was allowed home.

As is common to children with renal issues, he never felt hunger, so he refused food.

He was fed through a nasal tube then a 'gastrostomy button' which pumped food directly into his stomach. At the age of three he finally began consuming liquid, but being unused to solid food he would throw up anything lumpy.

Soon after Quentin's sixth birthday blood tests showed rocketing levels of creatinine - a muscle byproduct filtered by the kidney which indicates how well they are functioning. Quentin would need a transplant imminently.

Having always known that a parental donor would be required, the couple had stayed healthy - Eric even quit after 20 years as a smoker because that would otherwise have
ruled him out. Tests showed that, amazingly, both parents were good matches, whose kidneys were unlikely to be rejected by Quentin's body.

'We were elated,' says Sarah. 'Although mine was a better match by a whisker, neither of us minded who had the operation - we just wanted Quentin to have the most suitable organ.'

Kidney donation

The operation was booked for June 2000, by which time Quentin's creatinine level was six times higher than normal. The preceding evening, Sarah was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital while Eric went with Quentin to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital three miles away.

Sarah's kidney was successfully removed and whisked to Great Ormond Street. But during the major surgery, she lost so much blood she needed a transfusion.

Because your own kidneys are deep under the ribcage, the operation is considered far worse for the donor than the recipient. But when Sarah came round, all she was worried about was her son.

'Visitors weren't allowed for the first two days, as there is such a huge amount of monitoring and maintenance-after the kidney has been transplanted,' says Eric, who stayed in Salvation Army accommodation nearby. But the nurses made a video of a healthy Quentin saying hello to his mum and sent it to Sarah in the Royal Free to put her mind at rest.

Quentin began eating solids, and when he was discharged six weeks later, on his seventh birthday, he tried his first slice of birthday cake.

Over the next few months regular blood tests consistently returned good results, he started back at school and normal life resumed.

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'When your child gets ill you want to be able to do something, anything, so I actually feel lucky to have lost my kidney - lucky in that I was able to give it to my son.'

QUENTIN'S MOTHER, SARAH

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'For the first three years everything was fine,' recalls Sarah. 'But by the age of ten, he was getting viruses and feeling unwell. One chest infection lasted over a year and he was missing lots of school.'

Doctors lowered the dose of immunosuppressant drugs Quentin takes daily which stop his body's immune system attacking the transplanted kidney. But while this combatted Quentin's chronic ill-health, his kidney function deteriorated.

As Quentin became increasingly tired and anaemic, so Eric was called in for an assessment. As well as rigorous health checks, each donor must go before an independent panel to confirm that they are not being paid and understand the risks involved.

The couple made sure their older son, Cian, now 18, was kept involved by taking him to the obligatory pre-transplant family sessions with a psychologist. He also met their surgeon who reassured him that his parents could cope with just one kidney.

The evening before the operation, on June 17 this year, Eric started feeling apprehensive. 'I had no idea what to expect. I'd never been into hospital before or even had a day off work.'

Advancements in technology

But technology has advanced since Sarah's donation. While her kidney was removed by cutting the skin on the side of her torso, Eric was operated on using keyhole surgery.

Through tiny slits, lasers cut and sealed the connecting vessels simultaneously to reduce blood loss. Once unfixed, the kidney was slid down the stomach and taken out through a lower cut.

'It all happened very quickly,' says Eric. 'In the morning, the anaesthetist came to my bed - then I woke up and it was all over. Because of the morphine there was no pain at all.'

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'For the first time in my life, I feel like I want to run around. Friends find it strange that I now have four kidneys inside me, but the only thing I notice is feeling better.'

15-YEAR-OLD QUENTIN

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Though it was Quentin's second transplant operation, he was similarly nervous. He had been so young that he couldn't recall the first one.

'I couldn't sleep the night before,' he admits, but in the end he found it pain-free. 'The scariest part was coming round to find the faces of my mum, gran, aunt and uncle staring down at me!' he jokes.

Eric was discharged a week later and Quentin returned home on July 2. Quentin's quick recovery - boosted by steroids - brought immediate benefits: more energy, less tiredness and a good appetite.

It is hoped this kidney will last at least 15 years, by which time Sarah and Eric believe new technology will have been developed which can help.

Quentin is busy planning for his now bright future: 'I'm taking my GCSEs next year, trying to catch up with all the school I've missed. What I really want is to be an actor.'

Amazingly, these are things Quentin can now attempt as the only off-limits activity is contact sports, such as rugby, which could knock the transplanted kidney.

But he will remain on daily immunosuppressant tablets for the rest of his life, have regular blood tests and biopsies, and drink three litres of water each day to help his kidneys flush out toxins.

'He's been very brave,' says Sarah proudly. 'I can't wait to see him become a young adult with all the usual hopes and desires - and now be able to achieve them.'

* Read Quentin's blog about his experiences at http://qblue55.blogspot.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1081110/I-given-kidney-mum-AND-dad.html#