Amelia’s journey from a hospital bed to joyful play in the playground is nothing short of a miracle. Diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at just two years old, she spent 18 months at Great Ormond Street Hospital connected to a Berlin heart machine, waiting for a life-saving transplant. In Spring 2024, she finally received her new heart, and now, as she turns four, she is embracing a future filled with hope, family, and adventure.
After undergoing the life-saving transplant, Amelia became part of the Waiting to Live campaign, which raised awareness about the urgent need for child organ donors by transforming children’s stories into handmade dolls. This initiative helped highlight the hundreds of under-18s on the transplant waiting list, and it has already seen a significant impact, with more than half of the children represented by the dolls receiving their life-saving transplants in time.
While Amelia, along with several other children, has received their much-needed transplants, there are still many more young patients waiting for their second chance at life. This underscores the crucial need for more parents to consider and discuss organ donation for themselves and their children to save more young lives.
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Amelia’s family’s story is one of hope and resilience. From enduring sepsis and pneumonia to long months in the hospital, they clung to hope throughout the challenging journey. Now, with Amelia healthy and home, playing with her sister and preparing to welcome another sibling, the family is looking forward to a brighter future filled with love, joy, and new beginnings.
The heartwarming success stories of Amelia, Evie, Freddie, Ralph, Jude, Ava, Pablo, Sienna, and Ralf, who all received their much-needed organ transplants, serve as a testament to the life-changing impact of organ donation.
The urgent need for young donors is evident as around 290 children in the UK are currently waiting for an organ transplant. The call for more young donors is underscored by the fact that in the last year, eight children died while waiting for a transplant, highlighting the critical need for more organ donors.
The Waiting to Live campaign, launched in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant, aims to encourage parents to consider organ donation and address the growing number of children on the transplant waiting list. As the year comes to an end, more than 7,900 people in the UK, including 290 children, are still hoping for a life-saving organ transplant.
The initiative continues to emphasize the importance of registering on the NHS Organ Donor Register to support organ donation.