50,000 kidney transplants for UK

50,000 kidney transplants for UK

Last Modified: 18 Oct 2007
Source: PA News

A five-year-old boy is celebrating after receiving the 50,000th kidney transplant in the UK.

Kyle Nuttall had spent most of his life in hospital with chronic renal failure before the landmark transplant.

Now the youngster from Grimsby is looking forward to playing with his friends and eating chocolate for the first time in his life.

Kyle's mother Jeanette Nuttall said: "He's a different boy. Before it was such a huge worry watching him having to go through dialysis and not being able to do all the things other children his age would take for granted.

"He's missed a lot of school, but now he can look forward to being with his friends again in the classroom and playground. He has a future and I'm so happy for him and so grateful to his donor too. Without their gift Kyle wouldn't have the second chance he's been given."

Kyle was just 10 months old when he was diagnosed with pneumococcal haemolytic uremic syndrome, an infection which led to chronic renal failure. He struggled with his growth and weight and was unable to enjoy foods such as bananas, potatoes and chocolate because of the strict diet he had to follow.

Kyle received the landmark transplant at St James's Hospital in Leeds earlier this month.

His surgeon, Mr Niaz Ahmad said: "The fact that Kyle's kidney transplant is the 50,000th of its kind in this country is a wonderful and significant milestone. We should not forget though that the number of people needing a transplant far outweighs the numbers carried out. We are only limited in this respect by the number of organs available."

More than 6,500 people are currently listed for a kidney transplant, but in the last five years nearly 1,500 people died while waiting for a match, according to NHS organisation UK Transplant.

Chris Rudge, UK Transplant Managing and Transplant Director, said: "This landmark transplant sends a message of hope to the thousands of people on dialysis waiting for a new kidney. Transplants save thousands of lives every year, yet the biggest obstacle to even more lives being saved is that four out of ten families do not allow their loved one's organs to be donated, often because they didn't know what their relative's donation wishes were."

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