Myla Evans was just five weeks old when she was rushed to hospital. Her mum made a public appeal when she needed a liver transplant. Step forward her best friend Naedean Marshall, the perfect match who saved Myla’s life.
The life of a desperately sick baby girl was saved thanks to her mum’s best friend in a liver transplant.
Myla Evans was just five weeks old when she was rushed to hospital with a rash on her face. After tests, she was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a blockage in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder.
The liver transplant was needed to save her life. Worried parents Laura and Liam travelled 232 miles from their home in Falkirk to Leeds Children’s Hospital for Myla’s treatment. They made a public appeal for a liver donor and Laura’s best friend from school, fellow Scot Naedean Marshall (c), volunteered to undergo a series of tests.
The mum-of-three was found to be a perfect match and saved Myla’s life. A tiny portion of Naedean’s liver was enough to ‘grow’ a new liver for the tot, who spent seven months in hospital. She was on oxygen and unable to leave the hospital ward last Christmas.
Now 17 months old, she will enjoy this festive season at home with her family, who will be ‘forever grateful’ to Naedean for giving the best Christmas present ever, the gift of life. Mum-of-one Laura, 30, a dance school owner, said: “My husband was first in line to be the donor. But it would not have worked, so we made a public appeal. Naedean was tested and did the questionnaire.
“We’ve been very close since we were at school, she is my best friend, and was bridesmaid at my wedding. She just really wanted to help.” Surgeons took 25 percent of the left lobe of Naedean’s liver which regenerated after about two months. Naedean, 30, said: “I thought that I would be a match, it was an instinct, but I had to do lots of tests. They did family first, but Liam was not a match.
“I had MRI scans, CT scans, they took lots of blood, went through my full medical history, which took three days. Two days after the last test I was told that I was a match. A week later, they did the transplant. But you have to be interviewed and speak to a psychiatrist to ensure you know all the risks, there can be complications for the rest of your life.”
She said it was ‘hard to explain’ the decision to become a life saver. “I loved Myla before she was born, she will have a life now,” she added. “If you can be a donor, you should. Don’t go to the grave wasting your organs, they just rot when you die. I have made an application to give my kidney to save a boy in Leeds. I would like to do it again. I feel like we are born with spare parts.”
Naedean’s name has been added to Myla’s birth certificate so her full name now is Myla Evans Naedean Duffey. Proud mum Laura added: “It stands for MEND, I find that crazy. Hundreds of people answered our appeal. One became a liver donor for a little girl, so we helped to save another life too, which is amazing. It was so emotional. It is the ultimate gift, we will never be able to repay Naedean, she is a true life hero.”
Both Laura and Naedean wanted to highlight the importance of organ donation, with Myla now recovering well and full of smiles. Laura and Liam, 30, a farm worker, stayed at her side thanks to Eckersley House, run by the Sick Children’s Trust, which provided them and Laura’s mum Mandy with a place to stay. “It made an enormous difference,” Laura recalled. “I don’t know what we would have done without it.”
*Web links: www.organdonation.nhs.uk; sickchildrenstrust.org
