The youngest organ donor... twin who lived just 74 minutes
SHE was alive for just 74 minutes. But in that time, baby Hope lived up to her name, becoming Britain’s youngest organ donor and giving life to others.
Despite her tiny size, the newborn twin donated her kidneys to a sick woman and gave her liver cells which will prolong the lives of those waiting for a liver transplant.
Hope, whose twin brother Josh was born healthy, had a fatal condition that stops the brain and skull developing properly.
Her parents Emma and Drew Lee said it was heartbreaking watching her slip away so soon after her birth, but that knowing she would save others had ‘taken some of the pain away’.
Mrs Lee, 32, who held her daughter in her arms as she died, said: ‘We were distraught but we didn’t want her to die in vain ... Today she is still living on inside someone else and it helps with the grief.’ Mr Lee, 51, added: ‘We feel our little girl is a hero. She only lived for 74 minutes but she has achieved more than some people do in a lifetime.’
The couple, who have another daughter Maddie, four, conceived the twins after IVF treatment.
But at a 12-week ultrasound scan in June, they were told that Hope had the brain condition anencephaly, which affects six in 10,000 births, and would not survive long after birth.
Doctors advised Mrs Lee to have a termination. But the couple decided to go ahead with the birth so they could donate Hope’s organs. She was born at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge last week weighing just 2lb 13oz.
Three people a day die because of a lack of donated organs.
The couple, from Newmarket in Suffolk, were inspired by Britain’s previous youngest organ donor Teddy Houlston, from Cardiff, who lived for just 100 minutes. His parents also knew at 12 weeks that he wouldn’t survive, and donated his organs after he was born last year.
Mrs Lee told the Daily Mirror: ‘Before I was pregnant I read about Teddy in the paper and my only thought was that his parents
‘It took some of the pain away’
were so brave. I never expected that I would end up in exactly the same position. When we found out Hope wouldn’t survive, knowing Teddy’s story made me confident doctors could do the same thing.
‘When we heard the transplant had taken place it instantly took some of the pain away.’
Mrs Lee, who met her husband ten years ago while they were working as carers, added: ‘ We were thinking of names and I thought Hope.
‘It means hope for us and hope for the others she helps. I don’t think anyone spoke during the 74 minutes, we just all gave her cuddles. She looked incredibly peaceful which really helped me.’
Mr Lee said that if they had not planned the organ donation in advance, it would have been harder to go through with it after Hope was born.
He told the BBC: ‘ Just before she died she bent her fingers around my finger and I broke down. Seventy four minutes isn’t long, but it has given us a chance for a bit of closure.’
Since 2005, 43 babies under two have donated organs in the UK, and only 11 babies under 60 days old. NHS transplant director Sally Johnson said: ‘We are very grateful to Emma and Andrew for making such a courageous decision and to offer a chance of life to others at a time of personal loss.’