'I'm a proud West Midlands mum and I feel like I've given my son life twice after donating my kidney to him after he was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition'
A mum from Birmingham was reunited with her son after she donated her kidney to him in a life-saving operation.
Sarah Melhuish, 49 from Maypole, Birmingham, stepped in to save her teenage son Anthony despite having Multiple Sclerosis after he was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Nephronophthisis NPHP 1.
The condition, which affects an estimated one in 60,000, resulted in end stage kidney failure for Anthony, which meant he was in desperate need of a transplant.
Heroic mum Sarah said: “By giving him one of my kidneys, it’s almost like I’ve been able to give life to him twice. I would do it all again in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
She recalled when he first became seriously unwell: “He wasn’t growing much, was tired all the time, had such a little appetite and was sick constantly.
“He’d been like that for a while before things got worse, but a lot of his symptoms were put down to either anxiety or his autism. So when we found out he had Nephronophthisis, it suddenly made a lot of sense.”
Anthony, aged 16, was admitted into hospital and given dialysis treatment immediately.
He was also put on the transplant list for a new kidney.
Sarah, a Domestic Abuse Service Manager, added: “As soon as he started receiving the dialysis we could see a change in him, and he was responding to it really well.
“A lot of our family were tested to see if they would be a match for him. It was an emotional rollercoaster. Anthony's dad had sadly passed away, and I have MS and so at first, I was told I wouldn’t be able to donate.
“I looked at the criteria and I knew that despite my MS I was well enough. I really wanted to see if I could donate.”
In November last year, medics started the testing process on Sarah to determine if she could donate and three months later there was good news that she was well enough to undergo the operation.
Sarah recalled: “There was no question about it, of course I would donate my kidney to him. Finding out I could donate felt better than winning the lottery.”
Over the next three months, the mother and son prepared for surgery and Anthony continued to receive dialysis at home.
“It felt very surreal for both of us," Sarah explained. "A lot of people told me how brave I was, but for me, it was the most natural decision I could have made.”
“We had to go to separate hospitals and it was so difficult not being with him. We video-called that night as I was desperate to see him, but I didn't until three days later.
“Anthony was just suddenly so full of life in a way I'd never seen before.
“He’s gone from being tired all the time and having such a small appetite to eating much more than he ever did and growing so much, I even saw him run for the first time.
“He’s so full of energy, it’s like he’s been given a new lease of life. He’s going to college in September to study animal welfare, and he’s in a position now to be making decisions about his life that he wouldn’t have been able to do previously.”
