Boy becomes 100th child in Scotland to receive kidney
● Mother donates organ to teen in 4-hour operation
A 15-year-old boy has become the 100th child in Scotland to receive a kidney from a living donor.
Stephen Gallacher received the organ from his mother Cheryl in a transplant operation lasting just over four hours at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.
Stephen, from Musselburgh in East Lothian, who became ill shortly after he was born, declared ahead of the procedure: “I’m grateful for this. I’ve been waiting since I was five weeks old.”
The teenager was born with a blockage affecting his bladder, which caused pressure to build up and resulted in severe kidney disease.
Although he had not yet needed dialysis, he has been on medication ever since the diagnosis and the illness has hampered his ability to live life to the full.
He said of the impact: “It’s been big. Like at school, at fun run, I’m most of the time at the back of the line.
“I can’t do contact (sports) like rugby and football.”
Since 2015, surgeons had been preparing to give stephen a kidney transplant and tests were carried out on both his mother and father Tommy, 53, to determine who would make the best donor for what is known as the living related donor (LRD) procedure.
Initially it was thought that Mr Gallacher would be the donor, but tests ultimately confirmed Stephen’s mother as being the most suitable match.
Speaking shortly before he went into surgery, Stephen admitted to feeling anxious ahead of the operation but was looking forward to the positive benefits it is going to bring him.
He said: “It’s fine. They went through all of the risks and stuff but I’ll be fine, Mum will be fine. Dad will have to look after us.
“I’m going to feel much healthier, I’m going to run faster, I’ll be bigger. I’ll basically be able to do stuff I can’t do, like contact (sports). I’ll be able to eat stuff I haven’t eaten before like cucumbers and tomatoes.”
He now faces a recovery time of around two weeks in hospital, before resting at home for a while.
The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow is the only base in Scotland where paediatric kidney transplants are carried out.
The operation coincidentally sees Stephen become the 250th child in Scotland to receive a kidney transplant from any donor, living or deceased.