Hannah Fights Back After Her Liver Transplant

"The parents of a seven-month-old girl who's had a life-saving liver transplant are maintaining their vigil at her bedside in a Birmingham hospital. Hannah Parkins, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, was rushed into the operating theatre after a nationwide appeal for a donor was successful, as ITN's Eric Macinnes reports.

Specialists will describe how they battled to save Hannah with an emergency liver transplant operation after she was given just days to live. The youngster is now in a stable condition at Birmingham Children's Hospital with her parents, Steve, 34, and Gill, 30, waiting by her bedside.

Transplant surgeon, Mr Jean de Ville de Goyet, and the head of the hospital's liver unit, Dr Deirdre Kelly, will give details of the operation at a news conference.

Hannah was transferred to the children's hospital about 10 days ago and had been waiting for a transplant for six weeks.She was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia,a condition which meant she was unable to process waste from the liver.

Mr and Mrs Parkins then made their emotional appeal for an organ asking for bereaved parents to make the "ultimate sacrifice" and give their child the gift of life. Details of the operation on Hannah coincide with the start of National Transplant Week, which aims to raise awareness of the need for donor organs.

The liver unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital is one of the country's leading specialist centres and conducts about 45 transplants each year - but staff say they are forced to face a continual shortage of donors.

No copyright available.

This article posted July 22, 2000.