THE proud mum of a six-year-old girl who just received "the gift of life" after having a liver transplant is sharing her story to urge others to think about organ donation.
Teighan Rae Whitfield, from Haydock, was born in September 2017 and was just six weeks old when she was diagnosed with biliary atresia.
The childhood condition means that one or more bile ducts are abnormally narrow, blocked, or absent.
Her mum Danielle, 40, said: “When she was born she had jaundice and it came back so doctors referred us to Whiston which led to us being under the care of Leeds Hospital which is a specialist hospital for liver conditions.
“She got diagnosed and underwent a major operation and we were in hospital when she was just a baby but since then, despite constant monitoring and being more susceptible to infections which has led to a few short hospital visits, she’s been OK - though we knew she’d eventually need a liver transplant.
“She had regular monitoring in Leeds every six months, but in March [2023] our normal clinic appointment led to them finding three nodules on her liver.
“Specialists know that these nodules can often become cancerous and so they decided the best thing was for her to have a transplant.”
English Martyrs pupil Teighan has been on the organ donation waiting list since August, with two previous cancelled operations.
However, on February 4 the family got the call and Teighan got the live-saving gift of a new liver, and yesterday, Wednesday, March 13, just six weeks post operation, she finally came home.
Mum-of-four Danielle said: “She’s done amazing, I’m just so proud of her.
“Since March we had seen her health decline, she had reduced mobility and was visibly struggling, which though she’s always had this, it was only recently we really saw her looking poorly.
“Having to give her over to doctors to perform an eight or nine-hour surgery was so hard but thanks to the organ donor and their family she is here.”
The family say they want to urge others to consider organ donation following Teighan’s transplant.
Danielle added: “The donor family is always on my mind, I know you don’t have long to decide whether or not to donate so to know they lost their loved one but part of them has saved my daughter means everything.
“Without this surgery we don’t know what the future would have looked like for Teighan, now she’s recovering for the next three months in isolation but she is here and recovering and that’s all because of organ donation.
“I’m just so proud of her, she’s been through so much, she’s a star.”
To find out more about organ donation, including how to sign the sign the register, go to organdonation.nhs.uk
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