Long wait takes sporty girl’s life
Daily News | Lindsay Ord
Photo: Aimee Nicholson loved life, bodyboarding in the surf, playing soccer and musical instruments. Aimee s heart was barely functioning in the weeks before her death.
A 14th birthday is a fun time for most teenagers and their families, but the Nicholson and Du Toit families will not be celebrating. Their daughter, Aimee, would have turned 14 this coming Sunday, but she died while waiting for a heart transplant. Had a suitable heart donor been found, the fun-loving teenager might still be alive.
Aimee was one of many children who are waiting for the gift of life â€" a life-saving organ or organs, as well as corneas and tissue.
Samantha Volschenk, executive director of the Organ Donor Foundation, says there is an urgent need for organs for children and consenting to the removal of organs in a dead child is, understandably, a difficult decision for parents. When a child dies, sometimes parents are approached to consider organ donation and signed consent is always needed should they agree.
“In the case of a heart, because of the size, it needs to be a child’s heart or that of a small adult,†she says. “A heart match is determined by size, body weight, blood group, tissue type and other factors. In the case of kidneys, liver, pancreas and some other organs, adult organs can sometimes be used.â€
While there is a list of children waiting for organs, when an organ becomes available, it goes to the most suitable match.
A 14th birthday is a fun time for most teenagers and their families, but the Nicholson and Du Toit families will not be celebrating. Their daughter, Aimee, would have turned 14 this coming Sunday, but she died while waiting for a heart transplant. Had a suitable heart donor been found, the fun-loving teenager might still be alive.
Aimee was one of many children who are waiting for the gift of life â€" a life-saving organ or organs, as well as corneas and tissue.
Samantha Volschenk, executive director of the Organ Donor Foundation, says there is an urgent need for organs for children and consenting to the removal of organs in a dead child is, understandably, a difficult decision for parents. When a child dies, sometimes parents are approached to consider organ donation and signed consent is always needed should they agree.
“In the case of a heart, because of the size, it needs to be a child’s heart or that of a small adult,†she says. “A heart match is determined by size, body weight, blood group, tissue type and other factors. In the case of kidneys, liver, pancreas and some other organs, adult organs can sometimes be used.â€
While there is a list of children waiting for organs, when an organ becomes available, it goes to the most suitable match.
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