Wednesday 10 August 2022 03:31 PM Autistic teenager has life-saving kidney transplant after High Court rules it ... trends now
A 17-year-old boy has been given ‘the gift of life’, receiving a kidney transplant less than a year after he was refused one because of his learning difficulties.
William Verden, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney condition in 2019, is now recovering in hospital after the operation on Sunday afternoon.
His mother Ami McLennan, 45, from Lancaster, launched legal action in February after Manchester University NHS Foundation refused a transplant to her son because they did not think he would be able to cope with the physical and psychological trauma of an operation that came with no guarantee of success.
The mother-of-three won the High Court battle and appealed for a donor, not being able to give her own kidney because she was not a match.
She shared the news that a match had been found on the Team William Facebook page on Sunday, saying it was a day she’ll never forget.
William Verden (pictured) received a kidney transplant on Sunday after a match was found from a deceased donor
Ms McLennan: ‘I got a really unexpected phone call yesterday. The hospital have found a AAA match for Williams kidney transplant.
‘The transplant has unfortunately come from a deceased donor and while we are devastated it’s such sad circumstances, we are also so incredibly grateful that this could be the start of a new forever for our beautiful boy.
‘I will never be able to repay this person for this chance for my William.
‘He will spend the next few weeks in paediatric intensive care where all we can do is hope and pray that his body accepts his new kidney and his FSGS doesn’t return.’
Ami McLennan (left) said she will 'never be able to repay' the donor for giving William 'the gift of life'
William, who has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was diagnosed with the kidney condition focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in December 2019.
FSGS affects around seven in every million people, attacking the kidneys' filtering units, causing scarring that leads to permanent damage and, sometimes, organ failure.
His kidneys were functioning at around five percent and by May 2020, having reached
