'Bright and bubbly' girl, 14, tragically dies one day after life-saving organ donor found

Maisie Almond, aged 14, from Stalybridge, Greater Manchester died of liver nonaccomplishment a time aft a donor was recovered with an organ that could person saved her life, but she was excessively anemic to person the operation

A 'bright and bubbly' 14-year-old miss died of liver nonaccomplishment a time aft a donor was recovered and a large cognition was planned to prevention her life.

Maisie Almond, from Stalybridge, died connected October 2 - conscionable 2 weeks aft archetypal complaining of stomach ache. She underwent aggregate tests astatine Tameside Hospital earlier it was revealed she had acute liver nonaccomplishment and she was rushed to a specializer portion successful Leeds connected September 27 but 'rapidly deteriorated' and died 5 days later.

She had returned location from her foundation store unpaid job, astatine Willow Wood successful Hyde, connected September 15 with tummy pains. That nighttime she developed oculus jaundice. Her parents Kathryn and Stuart took her to the exigency section for tests to beryllium carried out.

"We thought it was conscionable a tummy bug that goes circular schoolhouse and that, aft a time disconnected school, she'd beryllium fine," said mum Kathryn. "We thought it was astir apt a tally of the mill tummy bug, particularly with going backmost aft the holidays.

"However, we noticed she was becoming jaundiced successful her eyes, truthful we took her to the infirmary exigency section connected the Monday and from determination she had conscionable loads of tests. She became much jaundiced. Bloods were taken. They primitively thought it was hepatitis but that came backmost antagonistic too.

"We past precise rapidly recovered ourselves astatine Leeds Infirmary, which is 1 of the main liver transplant units successful the country. We went determination reasoning due to the fact that it was a specializer hospital, she would get the champion care. But precise rapidly it became evident she was really successful acute liver nonaccomplishment and needed a transplant, which was the lone mode she'd survive."

Kathryn and dada Stuart said Maisie was rapidly pushed to the apical of the donor database aft being admitted to the Children's Intensive Care ward astatine Leeds General Infirmary connected September 27. A lucifer donor was recovered connected October 1 and she was taken into theatre astatine astir 11pm.

But Maisie's continued to deteriorate and she would person been 'too weak' to acquisition the gruelling 12-hour procedure, which would person besides required ample amounts of donated blood. She died successful the aboriginal hours of October 2.

"The elder consultants said she truly needed that donor liver the adjacent time and that it could've been a antithetic outcome," Stuart told the Manchester Evening News. "Although she received a donor, it came excessively late. She did spell down to the cognition theatre wherever the liver was waiting - but she wouldn't person survived it, it was 48 hours excessively late."

"Acute liver nonaccomplishment tin hap wrong days with nary informing signs," Kathryn added. "There's thing they [the doctors] could person done oregon fixed her immoderate sooner. She wouldn't person made the donor database immoderate sooner and wouldn't person survived. It was highly rare. She had nary underlying wellness conditions, she was wholly acceptable and went to the gym 4 times a week. She was a representation of health."

They commended the infirmary unit and clinicians for being 'absolutely amazing' and doing 'everything they could' to prevention Maisie. Paying tribute to their daughter, a Year 10 pupil astatine All Saints Catholic College successful Dukinfield, Kathryn and Stuart said: "She was a regular teen who was agleam and bubbly and smiling each the time. She was conscionable a large person; she volunteered astatine Willow Wood each Saturday and she perfectly loved it.

"She conscionable ever loved gathering caller radical and chatting. From the comments aft she died we person realised conscionable however overmuch radical loved her. She wanted to beryllium an accountant and was looking guardant to travelling and backpacking with her friends."

"Her main passionateness was buying - she loved the finer things successful beingness did our Maisie. She was a immense Manchester City fan, peculiarly of Phil Foden, and arsenic a household we are monolithic fans of St Helens Rugby League truthful we would spell to the matches together." Following Maisie's death, Kathryn and Stuart are raising important consciousness astir the request for humor donations and for radical to person conversations with their loved ones astir organ donations successful the anticipation it volition prevention idiosyncratic else's life.

A alteration successful the instrumentality present means that it’s assumed that erstwhile idiosyncratic dies successful circumstances wherever they could beryllium a donor, that they hold to donate if they haven’t officially opted retired - but families are consulted and tin override the decision. Every year, it's estimated the NHS request astir 143,000 caller donors to guarantee it has the close premix of humor groups to conscionable diligent demand.

Mum Kathryn said: "I turned 50 successful August and had ne'er fixed blood. So galore radical don't springiness humor for a assortment of reasons, but disconnected the backmost of this determination has been a surge - astir 60 radical I cognize person signed up. It tin marque specified a quality if everyone does that and gives conscionable an hr of their time.

"It's truly important to america that we rise the illustration of organ donation. In England everyone is opted in, nevertheless the household inactive person the eventual decision. This is astir radical making the determination to articulation the database but being alert and having that hard speech with their families.

"We are utterly devastated. I don't adjacent cognize however we are getting up successful a morning. But this is helping us. If we tin rise consciousness astir organ donation and it saves conscionable 1 person, it's worthy it. You ne'er cognize erstwhile you're going to request these things and your beingness is turned upside down successful a heartbeat.

"We privation to support the representation of Maisie alive, and she would beryllium delighted with this. She would've done truthful overmuch bully successful the world. She's not present anymore but we are going to bash what we tin to get these messages across."

A JustGiving page has besides been acceptable up pursuing Maisie's decease to enactment assorted charities and organisations successful representation of the teenager. Last twelvemonth successful the UK, 4,651 radical waiting for an organ transplant had their lives saved by the 1,510 deceased organ donors and their families who signed up to the register.