Warning as ‘fit and healthy’ 14-year-old dies after tummy ache | UK | News | EUROtoday

Patients could possibly be liable to dying as a consequence of a “national shortage” of liver donations, it has been warned. The warning comes after a “fit and healthy” 14-year-old woman died weeks after first complaining of a abdomen ache.

Maisie Almond, from Manchester, initially instructed her dad and mom she had a tummy ache, which the household believed was a routine abdomen bug. But her situation quickly deteriorated and he or she later developed jaundice. After falling ailing on September 15, 2024, Maisie was taken by her dad and mom to A&E at Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester the next day, the place docs made the alarming discovery that her liver had turned yellow.

The “model pupil”, who additionally held two part-time jobs, was recognized with hepatitis.

Over the subsequent ten days, she was admitted to hospital on three separate events as her situation continued to worsen.

Extensive investigations did not determine any infections, genetic circumstances or different clear causes behind the sudden failure of her liver.

Maisie, who had dreamed of backpacking world wide and hoped to turn out to be an accountant, was later transferred to the Liver Centre at Leeds General Infirmary on September 26.

The following day, she was positioned on the transplant ready listing as a “super-urgent” case.

She was transferred to a specialist unit and positioned on the prime of the transplant listing. However, regardless of efforts to discover a appropriate donor organ, her situation worsened earlier than surgical procedure may happen.

The 14-year-old died after struggling extreme problems brought on by the fast failure of her liver.

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Adrian Farrow, assistant coroner for Manchester South, dominated that she died from cerebral oedema and multi-organ failure and seronegative acute liver failure throughout an inquest into her dying, which concluded on February 26.

He stated: “During the inquest, I heard evidence from a consultant paediatric hepatologist that there is a national shortage of donor livers generally and particularly for children in the ‘super urgent’ category.

“The clinical guidance not to utilise cardiac death donor livers in such cases due to the poor historical outcomes has narrowed the pool of suitable donor livers to those arising from brain deaths.

“Altruistic living liver donations are generally not available for super urgent cases.

“The evidence I received was that the number of donor livers has reduced by a third and the effect is that whereas, historically, a donor liver could be expected to be made available within 48 hours, the wait has now extended to up to a week.”