Grandma gives toddler second chance with kidney transplant
A toddler with severe kidney problems has received a lifesaving transplant from his 59-year-old grandmother, in one of the largest age-gap donations ever.
Three-year-old Jack Cox was born without a kidney, and with just four per cent function in the other. After spending the first two years of his life in considerable pain, he was put on dialysis last autumn when his remaining kidney began to fail.
But, just as all seemed lost, his 59-year-old grandmother Julie Cox stepped in and offered one of her own. Much to the family’s delight, they were a perfect match.
Julie told the Huffington Post, “I just knew it would be me, don’t ask me why but I just had this feeling. I even started getting ready to save holiday so I could book time off work because I knew it. The surgeons told me this happens more than you think - there’s just something in the genes that tells you. It was the best match we could have hoped for.
"The doctors don’t even understand it how it’s possible for me to share that many of sets of genes with him. Doctors are often concerned about children receiving adult kidneys, but when they looked at my left kidney it was only two thirds the size of a normal adult kidney but it was doing 45% of the work so was fine.
"I feel like I was born to donate a kidney to Jack.”
What a lovely story. You have to admire Julie’s sacrifice, and she’ll now have a bond with Jack that will last forever. Share any messages of support in the comments.
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