Every father knows that there is nothing he would not do to protect his children. One man from the United Kingdom showed that he really would give his life for his daughter when he chose to donate an organ to his daughter. 37 year old Lee Chester from Manchester risked a life threatening surgery because his three year old daughter needed a kidney.
Little Esme was the three year old daughter of Lee Chester and Rachel Mulhearn, and she had been diagnosed with late stage kidney failure. Due to this rare disorder, her body could not properly process and discard of waste. The toddler was hooked up to a dialysis machine for 12 hours every day for over a year. The doctors told her parents that she probably could not survive much longer unless she got a kidney transplant, but being on the waiting list could take years.
Both parents immediately decided to get tested to see if their kidneys could be a match for Esme.It was determined that Lee’s blood type and organ composition most closely fit Esme’s, so there was little risk for rejection. He immediately decided to undergo the surgery, even though it was somewhat risky. Fortunately, the surgery went great. Both Lee and Esme survived, and Esme’s body did not reject the donated organ. Her parents hope that she will be recovered from the surgery in time to start preschool with all the other kids her age in just a few months. Lee and Rachel are now encouraging people to sign up as an organ donor to save other children’s lives.
