A 17-year-old boy being treated at a Manchester hospital will be allowed to have potentially life-saving surgery after a court ruling.
William Verden, from Lancaster, has a rare kidney disease and is currently being kept alive through dialysis.
Sadly, the teenager was told that he only has 12 months at the most before the process will stop working.
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That prompted mum Amy McLennan to try and find a suitable kidney donor for her son, who also suffers from ADHD and autism.
However, doctors at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital did not agree to a transplant, arguing that William was likely to see a recurrence of the disease in his new kidney.
Should William see the disease come back, the medics said, a method called plasma exchange — which has a three-in-four success rate — would be used to treat him.
That would require William needing to be sedated and ventilated for a minimum of 14 days.
After both the family and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, could not agree on how to treat William, the case was referred to the Court of Protection, sitting in Liverpool.
Now, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot has ruled William should be allowed to undergo the transplant.
It’s a decision which mum Amy says allows the family to ‘look to the future’.
She said: “We adore William and all we want is for him to live the best life he can. At present I firmly believe that this won’t be possible unless he can receive the care he desperately needs and deserves.
“Bringing a legal case isn’t something we ever wanted or thought we would need to do. However, William’s situation is critical and could mean the difference between life and death.
“All we have wanted was for him to be added to the transplant list and his treatment to be continued until a donor is found. I feel it’s the minimum he deserves and what any mum would do for their child.
“What’s happened is in the past and we now need to focus on trying to find the crucial donor who can provide William with the best chance in life.”
Passing her judgement, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said: “Transplant is not futile.
“Although the chances of that lead to an increase in William’s suffering in the short and medium term, it has the commensurate benefit which is there is a chance for William of long-term survival.”
Ms Toli Onon, Joint Group Medical Director for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We welcome the clarity which this decision brings for William, his family and our clinicians.
The Trust asked the Court of Protection to make today’s judgement because of how unusual, complex and risky the situation is.
William has a rare condition affecting his kidneys, and each treatment option had its own risks to his health and wellbeing.
That’s why we asked the Court to make this difficult decision, and why the judge noted that she respected our approach to establishing what’s best for William.
William, his family and our staff have all worked really hard together to support his dialysis; and we will now be liaising with William and his family regarding how best to progress his treatment.”
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