Double transplant boy Brandon faces new operation

Brandon Kennedy is facing another life-saving operation after doctors revaled his donor liver is failing

September 29, 2005

TRANSPLANT SETBACK Brandon Kennedy, seven, who needs another liver transplant because his donor organ is failing, pictured with his mum Katrina

Brave little Brandon underwent a 12-and-a-half-hour liver and kidney swap operation in December, after waiting more than 10 months for organs to be found.

But now the seven-year-old is back on the transplant list, after tests revealed his body is rejecting the liver and a replacement is desperately needed.

His mother Katrina, 24, from Coach Road Estate, Washington, said the news came as a shock – but the plucky youngster is taking it in his stride.

She added: "We went to Birmingham Children's Hospital, where he had his operation, for a blood test in July and ended up staying for three weeks. The left side of his liver has died because the veins were infected and he had a blood clot.

"The joins where surgeons have attached new bile ducts have also swollen up and are making his eyes and skin yellow.

"The child who shared the liver with Brandon has already been retransplanted and all we can do now is wait.

"The call could come today, next week or Christmas. We just hope it comes soon.

"At first Brandon had trouble coming to terms with the news. He kept asking: 'Why do I need a new liver when I've already got a new one?'.

"But he's had play therapy and is taking it all in his stride. He said: 'As long as the hospital has a Playstation I'll be okay'. He's a proper little boy."

The latest setback is just one of many that the Oxclose Primary School pupil has faced in his short life.

He was born with an ectopic bladder. meaning it was outside his body, and at just one day old had a 10-hour operation to repair it.

Doctors then diagnosed congenital hepatic fibrosis of the liver and dysplastic kidneys and told Katrina, who cares for her son full-time, he would eventually need a double transplant.

Brandon has also never eaten normally but is instead fed special milk through a gastronomy button in his stomach.

And he recently survived a cancer scare, had an operation to stop swollen veins in his gullet from bursting and is in danger of losing his spleen during the next transplant procedure.

Katrina added: "A side-effect of transplantation is a greater risk of cancer if your lymph glands swell. Brandon had a biopsy recently because his were swollen but, luckily, he was okay.

"He's also had 'elastic bands' put round the swollen veins, which are life-threatening if they burst.

"His spleen is full of blood because the liver can't cope and if it swells too much the doctors will remove it when he has the second transplant.

"We're hoping he'll be eating normally soon as there's no medical reason he can't. It's a psychological reaction from when he was a baby and was sick every time he had food.

"I syringe milk into his tummy every morning, then at 4pm and then he's hooked up to a feeding machine for 10 hours overnight.

"He actually loves cooking, though, especially pizza, and loves watching Ready Steady Cook and Riverside Cottage. I honestly think, despite everything, he'll end up being a chef when he's older."

Shortage of organ donors

Brandon is just one 6,000 people in the UK waiting for an organ transplant that could save or dramatically improve their life.

Most are waiting for a kidney, others for a heart, lung or liver transplant. But fewer than 3,000 operations are carried out each year.

A shortage in donors means patients are waiting increasingly longer for treatment, and Katrina is urging people to sign the register and help others like her son.

When her own mum Deborah passed away from a heart attack three years ago, her organs went on to help the lives of 32 people.

"It is really important for people to sign the organ donor register, and I would urge people to do so today; tomorrow could be too late," said Katrina.

To join the register, contact the NHS Organ Donor Register line on 0845 60 60 400. Lines are open 7am to 11pm.

Copyright © 2005 Johnston Press News Media.

This article posted October 15, 2005.