This week marks Organ Donation Week - a campaign that takes place each year to raise awareness about the ongoing need for donors.
According to the NHS, in the UK, more than 7,600 people are in need of a transplant including 250 children.
Each year 1,400 people donate however the waiting list continues to rise.
Aedan Klieve was born in 2020 needing a kidney transplant.
He received one last year just before his third birthday.
Chanelle Sukhoo spoke to his mother Shirley:
Hi I'm Chanel, one of the journalists at Meng's Radio. Welcome to the latest edition of Meng's Radio Newscast, perfect. So Aiden was born in 2020. He pretty much needed a kidney transplant from birth really. We kept him going long enough to make him grow, really what a good growth and a good weight for Aiden. So we went until it became critical, a transplant became critical. In the meantime, I was tested as a possible donor match. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right tissue type and blood group to donate to Aiden. His dad, however, he was a perfect match. So we carried on for an offer a year with dialysis again, just given Aiden time to grow because obviously the complications were just a small child and going through transplants. So we carried on on the hope that Paul was going to donate to Aiden directly as his dad. But we got to the day before the planned transplant was to happen and we had a call from the surgical team, had reviewed some images and found some vessels that weren't quite right. So they were no longer going to need Paul. At this point, we'd waited until the transplant was critical to go to transplant. So we were in quite a scary situation in that the transplant was now critical and suddenly we have no donor, which was hard. We had to continue with dialysis, trying to get access lines into such a small child meant that the lines often failed, fallen out and we got that conversation. I'm sorry, there's nothing more that we can do for your son. We were placed in the Palace of Care. Obviously, we were on the organ donor list at that point, but unfortunately, we were no successful matches coming through for Aiden. We were on the list and we got a call that we really weren't expecting. We were on possibly a six-week countdown at the time. We were under Palace of Care. We got a call and a match being found from a deceased donor in the UK and that's when our journey that we didn't think that we'd have started, really. We went to Manchester and on the 12th of August, 2023, just very, very shortly before Aiden's third birthday, he was given a kidney from an unknown hero. As a parent who's experienced this, who knows how long days and nights of praying for this little miracle, what went through your mind when you actually got the call that he was getting, that donation, that kidney that he needed? If I'm being honest, my first was not really at all because, for me, it was almost as so and as awful as it sounds, you're waiting for someone to pass away and nobody wants that for anybody. There was a lot of sympathy and sadness and tears for a family that were losing somebody that they really, really loved, but the emotional side was we may well get to give Aiden the opportunity here of a life from the distress that that family were going through. So it's very, very mixed emotions, a lot of tears for the family that were denoting, and they were, you know, honest tears, you know, was our first thought, was, "Oh my gosh, how can we be happy about this?" You know, a family is losing their loved one. We are celebrating from their loss and it's such a confusing emotional time, very, very upsetting for everyone. However, we just hope that the family and families of people who do choose to donate their organs, they do realize that, you know, they are saving potentially up to nine lives from the loss of their loved one and their loved one will live on. Aiden's donated kidney. We, you have so much respect for that family. We obviously, we don't know who they are, but we do think of that family often at Christmas. We have a special bauble, you know, we say special prayers for them. We think of them on, you know, we're somebody's child, so we think of them mum and the dad on Mother's Day, Father's Day, you know, we, honestly, we think about that family a lot. They're a huge part of our lives and we don't even know them. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing that with us. You know, when you hear organ donation week, being as someone who was on the receiving end, you know, what goes through your mind? You know, do you encourage people to be on the donor list? Are you guys, have you guys tried to get on the list as well? We are absolutely encouraging. So, unfortunately, I was not a match for Aiden, but I would most certainly, I am definitely on the list to give organ donation donation. My husband, he wasn't able to donate to Aiden yet, however, he's still on the organ donation list. We can still donate. It's not just about our kidneys, it's about whatever organs that we have that we might be able to donate. One of the questions that I had was what happens if it's a 70, 80-year-olds person that sadly deceased can Aiden is such a small child, how we're never going to have their kidneys. It's not down to the age profile of the person that's down to the profile of the kidney and the blood tissue type that the needs to match. So, we do actively encourage absolutely everyone to donate and we do have that age question a lot. You know, actually, I can't help. You know, I'm in my 70s. Of course you can. You know, of course, you can help. There's also plenty of blood donation. There's lots of ways that you can donate. I know people aren't too keen of donating organs for research, but actually that's crucial. That really came crucial to us when I was not a donor match for Aiden. We heavily relied on for all my husband and then when Paul had those doors closed on the day before the transplant was a take place, we were in that point where, please take my, you know, what can we do? We were then looking at what kidney research is in development at the moment. We were talking about changing blood types to match blood types and that all comes from people donating their organs for research as well. So, don't be put off about organs going for research because in a way, you're still helping save lives. Do you find that people are a bit more open to have these conversations nowadays as compared to, you know, years ago? I think so. Yes. I mean, it's something that I always thought about before Aiden was even born. I mean, you, how poorly it was. It was one of the first things that came to my mind, but I know when I talked to people, you know, it's probably something that she would never have thought about. But I think it's certainly been spoken about an awful lot more in the last 10 years. I think people are a bit more open to it, but they want, they want to hear the right answers about the research side of it and, you know, what will actually happen on the day? You know, that dignity and that care is there for donors as well. You know, you don't lose any of that because you give your organs away. They'll look after you. And what's your message to someone that may be listening to this interview when it does play out? What's your message to that person who may be considering it, but they're on the border? Please have, you know, research into it. You know, there's lots of, lots of useful information and frequently asked questions all over the internet, but particularly the NHS website and the organ donation website as well. It's got the useful facts on there about religious beliefs about age and about, you know, age profiling. There's loads of questions and answers there that people can have a look at for guidance. As a mom who was desperate, I mean, I tried everything, you know, I was so desperate to give Aidan a life, you know. We were constantly being built up and then let down. Please consider it. You know, there were loads of children just like Aidan and various hospitals throughout the UK who are there at the moment and they're very poorly. They're waiting for livers and kidneys and it's so sad. They're so young and they deserve a chance. And I think my last question would be, you know, as a family that was on the receiving end, you know, how has life changed for you guys? It's been up to the amazing 12 months. So obviously, we're over about 13 months now into Aidan's new kidney. We've had so many little trips, so many little holidays away to the UK. We've done lots of traveling and we'll have lots of work done at homes. All of the things that we've put off for the last four years, we can suddenly now do, but most importantly, we have family time. Every Sunday, you know, we have a family meal, you know, we'll come along to a family meal. We can just do things like that that we take for granted. You know, I never thought that I'd have to live in a little close community for those three years, in case, you know, Aidan caught an infection or whatever. A lot of time we're spending all the hay, but we can go out now. We can walk Aidan's dramatops. He loves Emily and Janelle at dramatops. He's about to start playgroup as well, and these are things that we never thought you'd have. He's more up and he's trying to walk a bit more and run a bit more. He's just an amazing little boy. He's obsessed with his playing still. I don't think that'll ever change, but he just seems happier and there's more life and he's awake more. He's asleep a lot and he's lovely, absolutely lovely to see. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that with us. Is there anything else you'd like to add or you'd like to say? Anything you'd like to mention that I perhaps didn't mention? Yeah, I mean, at the moment, we are so close now to getting Daniel's law for all the hard work that's been done for Daniel's law to come on and into the Isle of Man. At the moment, every single day is valuable to somebody to go on and actually still register if they want to donate their organs. They still have to opt in, whereas Daniel's law makes it an opt out, but we're not there yet. So, just until we actually get there, if people are wishing to donate, please do make sure that people know, but also that you definitely register as well. You can do that on the organ donation website. Thank you for making it to the end of the Manx Radio newscast. You are obviously someone with exquisite taste. May I politely suggest you might want to subscribe to this and a wide range of Manx Radio podcasts at your favourite podcast provider, so our best bits will magically appear on your smartphone. Thank you. (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]
