Dilemma of 'Daughter or Son' Before Kidney Donation in England

Mother Decides on Organ Transplant for Daughter with Rare Kidney Disease in UK
Later, Son Diagnosed with Same Condition
Only One Kidney Available to Donate, "Feeling Dilemma as a Mother"

▲Sera's three children, (from left) Ariel, Noah, and Casper. (Photo from the Kidney Research UK website)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A mother of three children in the UK has become a hot topic after facing a dilemma of having to choose between her son and daughter. Both her daughter and son suffer from a rare kidney disease, but there was only one kidney available to donate.

According to the British BBC on the 7th (local time), Sarah Bingham (48), who lives in Hexham, Northumberland, northeast England, is the person in question.

Sarah lived an ordinary life with her husband and three children, but the nightmare began in 2016.

Her daughter Ariel (16) constantly felt tired at school, initially thought to be stress from exams. However, as the symptoms persisted, they visited a hospital in Newcastle, where it was discovered that Ariel had a problem with her kidney.

She was diagnosed with renal tuberculosis, a disease causing inflammation and scarring in the kidney. It is considered a rare disease occurring in about 1 in 100,000 people.

Sarah and her husband Daryl underwent tests for kidney donation, and fortunately, Sarah was deemed suitable for donation. Daryl was unable to donate due to a different blood type.

Therefore, Sarah decided to donate her kidney to her daughter when surgery became necessary.

The problem arose in 2019.

Her son Noah (20) showed symptoms similar to Ariel’s and was eventually diagnosed with the same disease.

Noah is maintaining a stable condition through regular dialysis but ultimately requires a kidney transplant.

From Sarah’s perspective, she had already decided to give her kidney to her daughter, but now her son was also in desperate need of her organ.

In an interview with the public BBC, she said, "I had decided to give my kidney to my daughter, but suddenly my son needed a kidney due to renal failure," adding, "Clearly, I only have one kidney to give."

She expressed, "I have to make the decision myself," and confessed, "As a mother of two children who need kidney transplants, I feel a dilemma."

Fortunately, there was good news for the family.

A friend of the family came forward as a potential kidney donor for Noah.

Currently, if all procedures go smoothly, it appears that Sarah will donate her kidney to her daughter, and the family friend will donate to Noah.

BBC reported that Sarah and her husband are also conducting tests to see if their youngest son Casper (12) has the same condition as his older siblings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.