Mum's agonising wait to see if she can save her son's life

Caryn Aitken is praying that she is a match for 9-year-old Kyle, who suffers from a rare condition and needs a new kidney.

Four years ago Kyle, from Bellshill, was chosen as the face of our Opt for Life campaign, which aims to change Scotland's transplant laws and follow the lead of Wales by introducing an opt-out system.

Sadly Kyle's condition has deteriorated, since he first appeared on our pages. He had a kidney removed just over a year ago and is now relying on the other, which is barely functioning.

In months, or even weeks, Kyle may start dialysis and will face the uncertainty of the organ donor waiting list.

However his family hope that one of them will be a match as a live donor and none more so than his devoted mum Caryn.

Caryn, 28, said: "It would mean everything to me.

"I'm very nervous about him going on the waiting list."

Kyle, who is a pupil at Mossend Primary, was born with a rare condition that affects only one in 800 babies and means urine cannot flow freely out of the bladder.

He had surgery when he was only three days old and was in intensive care for four weeks.

He then spent another three months in the renal unit of Yorkhill Hospital.

It was found one of his kidney didn't work and the other worked to only 40% of its capacity.

Caryn said: "When he was born they said he would need a new kidney by the age of 4. He's now ten. We are just taking every day as it comes.

"He gets blood tests every four months to check his kidney function. The the last ones we got weren't great so it might be sooner than we thought.

"He's on stage 3b kidney function. When it gets to 4 you go onto dialysis."

To look at Kyle, you wouldn't think there was anything wrong. The only clue to his condition is the packed medicine cupboard in his mum's kitchen.

He must take 14 different pills every day and suffers from cramps in his legs caused by kidney malfunction and can't play sport like other little boys.

However, Kyle, who will turn 10 on April 9, says the hardest thing about his condition, is that he can't enjoy his favourite treats such as milkshakes and Nutella because he has to follow a low phosphate diet to protect his heart, which could affected by the kidney disease.

Caryn said: "He does so well, you wouldn't know he was ill. If he does a lot of exercise he will suffer the next day.

"He gets terrible cramps in his legs because of the salt levels. He copes really well with it."

Caryn is in her final year of her training to become a nurse. She decided to re-train to give something back to Yorkhill Hospital, which cared for Kyle as a child. Both her mum and dad and brother and sister will also be tested to see if they are a match. But agonisingly, they can only be tested when Kyle is ready to go on the list.

The number of people with kidney failure is rising and is expected to continue rising as the population ages, further increasing the demand for donors.

Children and young people who have kidney failure receive priority for transplantation.

However Kyle's family believe a change to an 'opt-out' system of organ donation would improve Kyle's chances of getting a match.

Glasgow MSP Anne McTaggart is driving forward a member's bill for a change in the law, which would means that individuals are required to opt-out if they do not wish to donate organs posthumously. However family would still be consulted about the final decision.l The move is backed by major charities including the British Heart Foundation.

Kyle said: "It would help people like me."

Living Donor Facts

l More than 1000 people choose to donate an organ as a living donor in the UK each year and the number is increasing.
l 96% of people donate a kidney and
4% donate part of their liver.
l Some medical conditions could prevent you from being a living donor such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, HIV, hepatitis or acute infections.
l You can donate to a member of your family, a friend or even someone whom you do not know.
l In Scotland, only people over 16 years of age can be legally considered as living kidney donors.
l You are at no greater risk of developing kidney failure after donating than anyone in the general population.