The Panhellenic is overwhelmed by the tragic death of 3 -year -old Angel because of the wild abuse he suffered by his 26 -year -old mother and her 44 -year -old partner in Heraklion, as well as his grandmother’s decision on her transplant of his organs child.
In fact, on Tuesday night (04.02.2025), completed The kidneys’ kidney transplantation into a 37 -year -old patient in Thessaloniki.
But how can an organs transplant from a child to an adult? And how common are these transplants?
Organ transplantation with donors is an unbearably difficult issue, because the loss of every child and baby is a tragedy. And the decision to make the donation seems unbearable. This is also one of the main reasons why it is not often the case.
In the US, for example, the 2023 have been almost 900 pediatric donors and 1,900 little kids that they did organ transplant. However the total number of transplants exceeded 46.000. Therefore, from little ones came a little more than the 4% of grafts.
The age of pediatric donors ranged from newborns up to 17 years of age. Most were 11 to 17 years old. However 99 of the donors were under 12 months.
In the waiting list for a graft, moreover, more than 2.100 children. And over 500 of these are age between 1 and 5 years old.
The size of the body and the organ to be transplanted plays a role in transplantation. For this reason very young children usually receive cuttings from other children. However, older children and adults can often “share” organs.
In fact, children children can save adult lives. And this is because some organs such as the liver and kidneys grow very quickly when transplanted.
In even more rare cases, organs are even obtained from newborn infants who die during or a few days after childbirth.
They feel relief
“The death of a child is always a tragedy. Many families, however, feel that organ donation gives, in a way, “meaning” to the loss of their child. Although it does not diminish their suffering, they feel relieved that their little kid had the opportunity to help others, ”she explains Dr. Judy Zierintensive Minesota Children’s Gillette Hospital.
Although infants’ kidneys are much smaller than adults, they grow rapidly after transplantation into older children or adults. When they come from babies, they are usually removed as a pair and transplanted together on one side of the receiver’s body, the Surgery Professor Dr. Dai Nghiem by the Allegheny General Hospital in Pennsylvania. They usually develop quite a bit within three months to do the work of a kidney by an adult.
Transplants from newborn babies are made a few times a year in few countries, such as the US and Britain. Most common are transplants from older babies or toddlers.
Which instruments are donated
By infants and toddlers can be taken the heartthe liver, the kidneys or heart valves. Each case is evaluated separately, depending on the disease/cause that cost him life.
It can also be taken cornea or other tissues, according to experts from the University of Medical Sciences of Arkansas (UAMs). If e.g. the heart valves (are four), can be transplanted to 3 or 4 other children.
The transplantation of organs by infants and toddlers is almost as effective as that of adult organs. Study in 5 -year -olds and below, published in 2018, showed that the success rate of the transplant was about 90% after 12 months.
The corresponding percentage of adult cuttings is around 95%.
Source: iatropedia.gr