THE MUM of a little boy whose life was saved after he received a new heart is urging others to have a discussion about registering their children on the Organ Donation Register.
Jake Cathcart, from Moss Bank, was born in 2015 with a rare and undiagnosed heart condition, leading him to suffer two cardiac arrests and a respiratory arrest.
Since then he has become an inspiration for Team 1C, led by his parents and other parents who have children with cardiac issues at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, who have raised thousands to send surgeons abroad to help other children with heart defects.
Jake was in hospital fighting for his life at Christmas Jake attends St Peter and Paul Primary School and was doing very well, until he took a turn in November 2020 and was rushed into Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and later taken by helicopter to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
There his parents Claire and Neil were told Jake was put on the organ donor register for a new heart. After months waiting, resulting in him needing Berlin Heart surgery - the little fighter managed to get strong enough for surgery and in January underwent a heart transplant thanks to organ donation.
Now his mum Claire is joining the call of other parents in a similar situation to urge parents to have a discussion about organ donation.
Claire said: “Without someone donating their child’s heart my son wouldn’t be here or at best he’d still be waiting on the transplant list.
“There are parents across the country and further who desperately want help for their children, but we realise it comes at an awful price to other families.
“But that happened for us and now Jake is seven and thriving, so much energy and he’s a completely different child.
“They gave my son a life, better than the one he had before and their child’s heart lives on in my son.
“For me watching Jake struggle was awful, knowing that his heart went on for research and his valves were donated helps me make some sense of this situation.
“Not many people know but the organ donation opt out scheme does not apply to children. Parents have to opt children in.
“I can only imagine being in the bad news room and having to make that decision, for me I’d rather that I already made that decision and of course doctors don’t do anything without checking again.
“Jake and my daughter Daisy are alive and well I registered my children as donors at a time were there was no traumatic situation and no one was critically ill, it’s a much kinder way to do it. “If god forbid something happens, I’d like to know they went on to help others, just like someone went on to help my Jake.”
The opt out system does not apply to children under the age of 18 years old.
In circumstances where a donation decision is required for someone under 18, the family will be asked to make that decision and provide consent.
For more information on organ donation go to organdonation.nhs.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here