Key points
- Doctors at the Centre for Transplantology and St Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv have transplanted a kidney into 11-year-old Yurchyk.
- Before the operation the boy had spent three years on haemodialysis – complications from a bout of tonsillitis at the age of four had led to kidney failure.
- The posthumous donor was a 13-year-old boy who died as a result of an accident, with his parents giving their consent to the transplant.
- The family’s decision saved the lives of four children.
- Following her son’s illness, Yurchyk’s mother Iryna also signed her own consent for posthumous organ donation.
Doctors at the Centre for Transplantology and St Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv have carried out a kidney transplant for 11-year-old Yurchyk, with the kidney coming from a posthumous donor – a 13-year-old boy who died as a result of an accident.
Before the operation Yurchyk had spent three years on haemodialysis. At the age of four he had a bout of tonsillitis, which led to complications affecting his kidneys – the boy developed nephrotic syndrome.
By the age of nine his kidneys had stopped removing fluid from his body altogether, with his creatinine level reaching a critical 1,200. His only lifeline was haemodialysis – artificial blood purification that he underwent every other day for four hours at a time.
Three years on dialysis took their toll on the boy’s body. Yurchyk stopped growing. His bones became extremely fragile. The constant high blood pressure put enormous strain on his heart. He was fading before his parents’ eyes.
– St Nicholas Children’s Hospital.
In March, during another routine dialysis session, the transplant coordinator told Yurchyk’s family that a donor had been found. It was a 13-year-old boy who had sustained a severe head injury that proved fatal.
At the moment of their greatest loss, his parents gave their consent for posthumous donation of their son’s organs – a decision that saved the lives of four children.
As soon as I saw the news, I knew at once who had become a donor for my son. The first thing my husband and I did was go to church to pray for that boy. I am endlessly grateful to his parents for giving their consent to the transplant and saving my child. We now think of that boy as our second child, because a part of him lives on in my son.
– Yurchyk’s mother Iryna.
Watching her son’s struggle with illness prompted Iryna to sign her own consent for posthumous organ donation. She said she felt at peace with the decision, explaining that her organs would be of no use to God after her death, but they could save someone’s life.
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