Family trying to get son to US for life-saving transplant due to so few UK organ donors
Parents of a three-year-old boy waiting for a multi-organ transplant are attempting to raise £1m so they can seek treatment in the US in a bid to save his life.
Ralph is one of 230 children in the UK who are in need of a life-saving organ donation, the highest number in almost a decade.
He was diagnosed with liver cancer in January and in May he went into surgery for a liver transplant when doctors decided to abort the procedure because the cancer had spread to his pancreas and bowel too.
He now needs a multi-organ transplant from a child of a similar size.
Children who die are presumed to have opted out from organ donation, unlike adults, and only half of all families of children approached about organ donation say yes. This has led to a shortage of donors, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).
In comparison, the consent rate for child organ donation in the US stands at 75%.
“We’ve been advised that that is our best option to go to America,” said Katie Tatham, Ralph’s mum, speaking to Sky News at her home in Essex.
“It’s absolutely our last resort. We were really hoping a donor would come up in time in the UK, but unfortunately it hasn’t and we just don’t have the time to wait.
“So we’ve launched a GoFundMe to try to raise £1m to save Ralph’s life.”
Ralph needs a multi-organ transplant from a child of a similar size
Ralph’s parents say more families need to say yes to organ donation.
“There’s so few donors that by saying ‘yes’ you would actually save another child’s life. And we’re not saying definitely do it, but we’re saying think about it in advance because you wouldn’t want to be in a situation where the first time you considered it was at the point of being in the worst situation.”
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Six years ago, a tragic road accident left Loanna Ball’s daughter Keira with life-threatening injuries. Loanna and Keira’s father decided to donate Keira’s organs.
“I can’t believe she isn’t here,” she told Sky News. “It is a rubbish situation to be in. None of us wants to lose our children. Sadly it happens but the thought that actually she’s donating her organs and she’s living on in others is incredible… If we can benefit and support and help other people, why not?”
Kiera and Loanna Bell
Max Johnson was the recipient of Keira’s heart. In 2017, the then prime minister Theresa May proposed a new law referred to as Max’s Law to launch an opt-out organ donation system for England.
“The law doesn’t apply to children,” explains Rachel Rowson, head of regional nursing at the NHSBT’s London Organ Donation Team.
“That’s why it’s really important for people to put themselves on the organ donor register and sign up. Regardless of children or adults, when we know somebody has opted into the organ donor register, we have a much higher consent rate.”
For many children waiting for organs such as a heart, lungs or bowel, like Ralph, they will need a transplant from another child who is a similar size to them. NHSBT says only 1% of people currently die in circumstances where organ donation is possible, but each donor who is able to donate has the potential to save up to nine people’s lives.
Daithi was born with a severe heart condition
In Northern Ireland, the Organ and Tissue Donation (Deemed Consent) legislation is known as Daithi’s Law in honour of six-year-old Daithi MacGabhann who has campaigned for the law change. The 1st of June marked exactly five years from when Daithi was added to the transplant waiting list.
“It’s an up and down rollercoaster,” his father Mairtin MacGabhann told Sky News, describing the wait for that all-important call.
“Daithi was born with a severe heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means that he has half a heart.”
Daithi interrupts: “I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Daithi’s family hope that paediatric organ donation can “become the norm”.
“Some people may think that it’s a lot to ask but what those people may not understand is it’s the only thing we can ask to see our children. So we want people to have more conversations about paediatric organ donation and hopefully it’ll just become the norm in society.”
UK
Starmer urges anyone with information on Epstein case to come forward – after Andrew misses Congress deadline
Sir Keir Starmer has urged anyone with information on the Jeffrey Epstein case to come forward after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor missed the deadline to appear in front of US Congress.
US legislators have criticised Andrew for what they describe as “silence” amid their probe into Epstein after he failed to respond to their request for an interview.
When asked about Andrew missing the deadline and whether the former prince should help the case in any way he can, Sir Keir said on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa: “I don’t comment on this particular case.”
He added that “a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it”.
Andrew is not legally obliged to talk to Congress and has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to reporters on his way to the G20 in South Africa. Pic: Reuters
It comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of US President Donald Trump, said on Friday she is resigning from Congress in January.
Ms Greene’s resignation followed a public falling-out with Mr Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files related to Epstein, as well as on foreign policy and healthcare.
Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “transcribed interview” with Andrew in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein, the paedophile financier who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
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Releasing the Epstein files: How we got here
But after saying they had not heard back, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding.
Their statement read: “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrat’s demand for testimony speaks volumes.
“The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.
“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors.”
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The new Epstein files: The key takeaways
It follows Andrew being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles earlier this month.
He had previously agreed to stop using his titles, but had expected to remain a prince and retain his dukedom, ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager – an accusation he denies.
A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.
Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.
Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.
There were no other reported injuries.
Forensic officers are at the scene to collect evidence
Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.
“We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.
“I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else.”
Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.
A police statement read: “Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman’s death.
“The suspect remains in custody at this time.”
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Police said anyone with concerns should speak with their local neighbourhood policing team, either by emailing or approaching officers in person.
Rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.
Ministers promised that millions of rail travellers will save hundreds of pounds on regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns between major cities.
The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.
People commuting to work three days a week using flexi-season tickets will save £315 a year travelling from Milton Keynes to London, £173 travelling from Woking to London and £57 from Bradford to Leeds, the government said.
The changes are part of Labour’s plans to rebuild a publicly owned Great British Railways. Other planned changes include tap in-tap out and digital ticketing, as well as investing in superfast Wi-Fi.
The freeze applies to regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns. Pic: iStock
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government was introducing a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which “will ease the pressure on household finances and make travelling to work, school or to visit friends and family that bit easier”.
“We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.”
Rail unions and passenger groups welcomed the move, praising how it will make travel more affordable for passengers and promote more sustainable travel alternatives.
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Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “More affordable fares will encourage greater use of public transport, supporting jobs, giving a shot in the arm to local economies and helping to improve the environment.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the rail fare freeze “will be a huge relief to working people”.
“This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country, because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef, said.
The Tories welcomed the move but said the government was “late to the platform”.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on the right track with below-inflation rises and consistently called for no further hikes to protect hard-working commuters.”
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