Dialysis patient has healthy girl

[okarol]

Dialysis patient has healthy girl

Monday, 13 August 2007
BBC NEWS

A 19-year-old woman who has chronic kidney disease has given birth to a healthy baby girl.

Lucy Sambrook, of Shrewsbury, had dialysis treatment six days each week before giving birth to daughter Vicky seven weeks premature.

Staff at the town's Royal Hospital said it was rare for someone to give birth while needing dialysis but had used a special technique to treat her.

The renal unit is the only one in the country to use that treatment.

   "It is not unheard of - it can happen, but it is extremely rare"
                   --Renal unit nurse Wendy Owen

Miss Sambrook was taking tablets to control her condition but had to stop taking them when she became pregnant.

"My kidney function went down rapidly so I had to have a line put in and begin dialysis," she said.

She then underwent dialysis six days per week, with each session lasting more than three hours.

"I just had to grit my teeth and get on with it. There was no point standing around and complaining.

"At the end of the day I was going to have a baby."

Gentle but effective

Renal unit nurse Wendy Owen said in her 15 years at the unit Lucy was the first dialysis patient to give birth.

"It is not unheard of - it can happen, but it is extremely rare," she said.

"This particular dialysis we used is used in Europe but we are the only unit in the country to use it."

The technique has been described as being as effective as standard dialysis but very gentle on the body, reducing the side effects that normal dialysis can bring.

It uses a specially modified form of acetate-free bio filtration.

That technique is already used on some dialysis patients, those with heart conditions for example, but was further specially modified by hospital staff.

After just over two weeks in hospital Vicky was allowed home.

"There was not a dry eye in the unit when she brought the baby to visit us," Ms Owen said.

Lucy now has dialysis three times a week.

She is hoping it will be reduced to two days a week but is not sure what will happen in the future.

"I will just have to take each day as it comes.

"I will probably have to have dialysis two days a week until I have a transplant," she said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/6943061.stm

[goofynina]

I always said, the only things in life we regret are the risks that we dont take,  to be honest, something like this would be a little toooo risky for me,   I am glad the baby is fine and i hope she stays that way too