Woman living on 4 kidneys is ‘eternally’ grateful to family who donated kidneys of their 18-month-old (PICTURED)

A medical marvel who has four kidneys keeping  her alive has spoken of her eternal gratitude to the grieving parents of her 18-month-old baby donor.

Naomi Key, 24, has her own partially  functioning kidneys and a pair from the tragic infant.

She is one of a few rare adults living with  kidneys from a donor under the age of five.

Transformed: Naomi has a new lease of life thanks to the sacrifice of her toddler donor's parents
Transformed: Naomi has a new lease of life thanks to the  sacrifice of her toddler donor’s parents

Naomi, from Stubbington, Hampshire, had been  waiting for a transplant since she was diagnosed with kidney reflux at  16.

While urine usually drains away from the  kidneys to the bladder, this process can fail in reflux sufferers, meaning urine  flows back into the kidneys to cause scarring and leave them feeling tired and  sick.

Last year, Naomi’s condition took a turn for  the worse and doctors at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, started preparing  her for dialysis.

But in September 2012, a phone call came out  of the blue to tell Naomi a matching donor had been found for her, meaning a  kidney transplant was possible.

 

HOW COMMON IS IT TO HAVE FOUR  KIDNEYS?

While kidney patients like Naomi are in dire  need of functioning organs, it is not uncommon for their original kidneys to be  left in place when the new pair are transplanted.

Though some patients with diseased kidneys  have them removed prior to a transplant, others will go through life with  four.

It is possible to live a healthy, active life  with just one kidney.

On the other hand, some rare people are born  with an extra one – or even a second pair – a condition known as duplex kidneys.

These organs are not usually fully formed,  and the chance of this happening has been estimated as one in a million.

Duplex kidneys form during the first  trimester of pregnancy, when the developing kidneys split in two.

While they can lead to infections, many  people go through life unaware of their bonus organs.

In fact, kidneys are not the only organ often  seen in duplicate.

Around 1 in 1000 women in the UK is born with  a second womb, while one in 200 of us has one or more extra ribs.

 

Naomi said: ‘I went to hospital and when I  arrived I was told there were two kidneys from an 18-month-old baby that had  sadly died.

‘For the family who lost their baby, there  are no words that can describe how I feel.

‘I want to say thank you to them, as they  have given me a whole new chance at life.

‘I’m sorry for their loss. When I heard about  it, I was upset. But it was their wish to help someone else.’

Though organ donation is anonymous, Naomi  wants the parents of her donor to know how grateful she is that they made her  double transplant possible.

The average adult kidney is about 12  centimetres long, while a child’s is six centimetres, but the organs continue to  grow after a transplant.

Sam Dutta, renal consultant at Queen  Alexandra Hospital, said a double kidney transplant from a child donor to an  adult was uncommon.

‘In the past 15 years, data shows only 56  such operations have been performed in the UK from donors less than five years  of age,’ he said.

‘I carried out three of these in  Portsmouth.’

Now her health allows it, Naomi hopes to do a  skydive to raise money for the hospital, and her family are donating £1,200 to  thank the staff for their care.

Urging people to join the organ donation  register so that more lives can be transformed, Naomi said: ‘It shouldn’t be  that you wait for someone close to you to be affected before you  act.’

I want people to join anyway.’

More information  about organ donation is available at organdonation.nhs.uk

Read more: Mail Online

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