Saturday 6 August 2022 11:28 PM Doting uncle, 36, rescues niece, 3, from the brink of death with astonishing ... trends now
Three-year-old Sammy Ayling was rescued from the brink of death thanks to her doting uncle.
The toddler had suffered complications during her birth in 2019 that had starved her kidneys of vital nutrients, causing them to fail.
Doctors told her devastated parents, Stacey, 44, and Jim, 46, from Manchester, that she had just a 50 per cent chance of surviving a year.
The kidney damage meant she failed to grow properly and couldn’t eat without vomiting, so had to rely on a tube to deliver nutrients into her stomach.
So when her uncle, Andrew Silverman, 36, was confirmed as a suitable match for a transplant, he didn’t hesitate to give his niece the astonishingly generous gift.
‘As soon as she was born we were told her only hope was a kidney transplant,’ says Andrew, who is a company director and has three children of his own.
UNIQUE BOND: Sammy Ayling is now thriving thanks to her uncle, Andrew Silverman
‘And I asked there and then if I could get myself tested for donation.’
Today, just over a year after their kidney swap, Sammy is healthy and happy. ‘She has this rosy colour in her cheeks,’ says Andrew.
‘As she’s got older, it’s been incredible watching her reach the milestones that the other kids in our family have.
‘As far as I’m concerned, my kidney is where it should be.’
Experts say the story highlights the importance of adult kidney donors, and are urging more people to come forward.
The number of people donating kidneys has reached new lows, dropping a third between 2020 and 2021. About 100 children are currently waiting for a kidney transplant.
In most of these cases it is because a family member can’t donate – usually due to a mismatch of proteins in the blood which would cause the recipient’s immune system to attack the new kidney.
Doctors can use a donated organ from a deceased donor, preferably from a child, who will be a like-for-like size match.
But few grieving parents give permission for their child’s organs to be donated
