Mum wants daughter’s life saver to go on NHS

Aug 4 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

THE mother of a baby girl whose life was saved by a paediatrician who painstakingly handmade a kidney dialysis machine in the garage of his home is backing the medic’s bid to make the device available on the NHS nationwide.

When Millie Sophie Kelly was born, she suffered from gastroschisis, a condition in which the bowels develop outside of the body.

Doctors from Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) fought to save the baby’s life and in a delicate operation returned the organs to her abdomen.

But complications following the procedure meant the baby suffered kidney failure and her mother, 21-year-old Rebecca Kelly, was told there was little hope for her survival.

A dialysis machine – which takes blood from the body, filters it and then returns it – was unavailable on the NHS for children under a certain weight, and any hope for the little girl, born weighing 6lb 2oz, was ruled out.

However, Dr Malcolm Coulthard, a paediatrician at the RVI, saved her life. In the garage of his home, he made a tiny dialysis machine and later hooked the baby up to it.

For seven days the machine battled to save the youngster’s life, until she finally showed signs of improvement. Now, two years later, Millie is healthy and fighting fit.

And last night Rebecca, a student who lives in the Linthorpe area of Middlesbrough, said she owed her baby’s life to the North East paediatrician.

She said: “Words cannot describe how grateful my family are to Dr Coulthard. Not only is he a great consultant but now also a great friend and inspiration to Millie, my family and I.

“Afterwards, the doctors and nurses didn’t know if she would make a full recovery, but she’s just turned two and she’s a normal, happy baby now.

“I delivered in the RVI because my scans showed there was this problem. When they did the operation it was touch and go, we just had to pray.”

Dr Coulthard’s machine allows haemodialysis – the cleaning of blood through an artificial kidney – of tiny babies with renal failure and other rare metabolic diseases.

Rebecca said: “It looked handmade in the garage, but I thought if it will save my baby’s life then I have to try it. When she was ill, I knew she wouldn’t give in. I was devastated when they said she wouldn’t make it, but she’s a fighter and I knew she would pull through.

During my pregnancy they twice offered me a termination but I knew she wouldn’t give in.

“If it was not for that machine then she would not be here today.

“Now she is fit as a fiddle and just like a normal two-year-old. She is a really lovely child.”