Identical twins to make medical history: each receiving new kidney from parents

Identical twins to make medical history by each receiving a new kidney from their parents

By Andy Dolan
Last updated at 8:06 AM on 6th April 2011

As identical twins, Jason and Ashley Roulstone have shared many things during their lives.

But to the devastation of their family, their similarities extend to both suffering from a rare inherited disease that causes kidney failure.

Now the boys, 20, will make medical history by each receiving a donor kidney from their parents.

Lifesaver: Jason, left and Ashley Roulstone will each receive a kidney from one of their parents to help them fight a rare genetic disease
After their sons’ health deteriorated, father Rob, 49, and mother Ann, 52, volunteered for tests and were both found to be suitable donors for the boys.

So Mr Roulstone will go under the knife at City Hospital in Nottingham next month to give a kidney to Jason, while Mrs Roulstone will donate one of her kidneys to Ashley later this year, once he has finished treatment to build up the strength of his heart muscles. If successful, the transplants will let the twins live normal lives again.

Identical transplants: Twins Jason (white shirt) and Ashley Roulstone, 20, at their family home in Long Eaton, Derbyshire. Jason will receive a kidney from his father Rob with mother Ann donating the vital organ to Ashley
Mrs Roulstone, a home help co-ordinator, said: ‘As soon as I heard that they would need a transplant I knew immediately that I wanted to donate one of my kidneys.’

Both boys were diagnosed with Alport’s Syndrome when they were ten. The condition runs in families and is caused by an abnormality in the body’s ‘type IV’ collagen, found mostly in the kidney and ear.

Sufferers can develop partial deafness and kidney failure, and there is no cure for the disease, which affects between one in every 5,000 and one in every 10,000.

The twins were tested for the condition because Mrs Roulstone’s father, uncle, aunt, sister and two cousins were sufferers. But it caused the boys no trouble until three years ago, when their kidney function suddenly began to deteriorate. Last year doctors realised both twins would need a transplant much sooner than expected.

For their parents, who endured the sudden death of their eldest son, Nathan, when he was only 18, the news was shocking.

Mrs Roulstone said: ‘It was a terrible time. Nathan, who did not have Alport’s Syndrome, had just died suddenly and hearing that the two boys were both getting worse rapidly was just terrible.’

Jason added: ‘When we were told by the doctor, mum burst into tears and ran out of the room. Typically, when she calmed down, all she wanted to do was to help.’

'If all goes well then these young men have a lot to thank their parents for': Ann and Rob Roulstone are each donating a kidney to their ill identical twin sons Ashley and Jason (white shirt)
Before the disease flared up in 2008, the brothers, from Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire, enjoyed sports and were training to become roofers on leaving school.

After their health began to deteriorate, Jason decided to retrain as a barber. Ashley now works at the same cement company as his father, training to be a yardman which involves mixing the mortar.

The boys, whose half-brother, Richard, 33, is clear of the disease, undergo four hours of dialysis three times a week and must not drink more than one litre of liquid a day.

Professor Neil Turner, chairman of Kidney Research UK, said: ‘I have never heard of a situation where identical twins are each receiving a donor organ from one of their parents. It is extraordinary.’

He added that it was ‘very rare’ for Alport’s Syndrome to attack a transplanted organ.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1373544/Identical-twins-make-medical-history-receiving-new-kidney-parents.html?ITO=1490#