14:00, 21 October 2021
Words by Smiley Team, Staff Writer, London
A 10-year-old from Basingstoke has become the oldest person known worldwide to have undergone a transplant to receive a ‘mismatched’ heart, thanks to a new method developed by researchers from the British Heart Foundation at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Lucy was born with a congenital heart disease, but it wasn’t diagnosed until she was 18 months old. She had a condition called left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy, which meant she had a weakened heart and her lungs were at risk.
Aged four, Lucy had a seizure just when she was due to start primary school, and was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
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Her mum, Jenny, explains: “It was a massive shock to be told that she needed a transplant as she didn’t seem that ill, but it was 3 ½ years we were on the list - so it was a good thing we were put on when we did.
“When Lucy started school, I would still have to take her in a pushchair, and eventually a wheelchair. She couldn’t do things that other kids her age were doing.”
When the pandemic hit, the family struggled to feel hopeful as they waited in limbo for good transplant news.But when Lucy finally got her new heart in April 2020 - amidst the coronavirus health crisis - everything changed.
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“She’s so eager to try everything and catch up with her big sister, Freya - she’s missed out on a normal childhood," says Jenny.
“We’ve had an amazing summer - she’s been to trampoline parks she’s never been able to go to, jumping around like never before, she’s been on high wire obstacles course, days at the beach.
“The other day she just ran ahead of me like any child would and she’d never done that. She’s never been able to. When I see her running and skipping ahead of me, it just makes me so emotional”
The technique that enabled Lucy to receive a transplant has been developed by researcher Dr Richard Issitt and his team at GOSH. They’ve used a special blood filtering device - called an immunoadsorption column - during the transplant operation to reduce the amount of blood needed. It means that older children can now receive a desperately needed transplant.
The British Heart Foundation’s medical director, Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, said: “This is a major advance in child heart transplantation, providing hope to more children who desperately need a new heart to survive. Less than 60 years ago heart transplantation was seen as an impossible dream. Since then, research has turned this dream into a reality for thousands of people across the UK."
Jenny adds: “Even after three and a half years on the list, she was only able to get the heart because of this new research. I dread to think how much longer we would have waited without it.”
You can donate here, to help fund more groundbreaking research at the British Heart Foundation.
