Teddy Nicholls has undergone two life-saving transplants already (Picture: PA)
A one-year-old boy has undergone life-saving surgery after his mum donated a part of her liver.
Teddy Nicholls, who is just 21 months old, was born with a rare inherited condition known as neonatal hemochromatosis.
It can cause liver failure in newborn babies and can be fatal without treatment.
But Emma Nicholls is making sure her son has the chance to live a normal life.
Doctors at King’s College Hospital in London who carried out the procedure said Teddy now ‘has the opportunity to develop as would be normal for any child’.
Teddy was just 10 weeks old when he underwent his first transplant in April 2022, using part of a liver from a donor who had died.
The latest donation from his mother helped towards his second innovative surgery.
Teddy Nicholls pictured in his pushchair with dad Greg, brother Theo and liver donor mum Emma Nicholls outside King’s College Hospital in London (Picture: PA)
Mrs Nicholls could not donate to her son the first time because it was too soon after she had given birth.
‘I knew I wanted to do everything possible to help my son,’ she said.
‘And as a family we were so thankful to the donor and their family who saved Teddy’s life with his first organ transplant that I had no doubts about stepping in when needed.’
The latest procedure was required to increase the blood flow needed for Teddy to survive in the long term.
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Surgeons used a technique known as a hitch-vein monosegment liver transplant for both operations.
The procedure is when a donor liver – from a person who is dead or alive – is reduced in size to match the dimensions of a baby’s body.
The only alternative would be to wait for a deceased donor liver from another small baby, which King’s College Hospital said is ‘rare’.
Three weeks after the procedure, Teddy has returned home to Cambridgeshire with his mother to enjoy Christmas with father Greg Nicholls and five-year-old brother Theo Nicholls.
Mrs Nicholls added: ‘I am incredibly grateful to the whole hospital team from the theatres to the wards where we stayed; they’ve been fantastic looking after Teddy and I every step of the way.
‘Being home and reunited as a family in time for Christmas makes us feel so lucky and grateful to everyone at King’s College Hospital.’
It is understood that King’s College Hospital usually sees one or two cases of neonatal hemochromatosis every year.
Dr Hector Vilca Melendez, consultant transplant surgeon at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘I’m delighted to see Teddy and Emma doing so well, and thanks to his mother’s donation, Teddy has the opportunity to develop as would be normal for any child.
‘Seeing Teddy grow from first meeting soon after birth when he was seriously unwell, to now that he’s a happy and vibrant 21 month-old, is a wonderful tribute to the importance of organ donation and the fantastic work of our team at King’s.’
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It’s his second life-saving transplant already.