Girl, 16, dies of blood clot less than 3 weeks after starting contraceptive pill

18 December 2023 , 10:58

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Layla Khan collapsed in the bathroom at her family home after complaining of agonising pain (Image: GoFundMe)

A schoolgirl has died aged 16 after developing a blood clot on her brain less than three weeks after going on the contraceptive pill.

Layla Khan, from from Immingham, Lincolnshire, collapsed in the bathroom at her family home after complaining of agonising pain. Her family drove her to hospital in Grimsby, where a scan found the clot. She was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where she underwent an operation. However doctors warned that there was a high probability that she would not survive. Sadly, Layla died on December 13.

Layla's aunt, Jenna Braithwaite, said: "Words can't even, we can't even say the words about how devastated our family are, we've only just recently lost my Nana. With it being so close to Christmas as well, it's a time for celebration and it sucks all the Christmas spirit out of you."

Layla died last Wednesday (GoFundMe)

Layla, who was in her first term at college, suffered from painful menstrual cycles and began taking a contraceptive pill that she hoped might help with the symptoms, the family said, reports GrimsbyLive. She began to take the pills on November 25, but within 10 days she began to have headaches and by the end of the week she began vomiting.

Jenna said: "On the Sunday night (December 10), she was being sick, a lot. She was basically vomiting every 30 minutes. On the Monday morning, they took her to the GP. Even though she was being sick the whole time she was at the GP, they gave her anti-sickness tablets and told her that they thought it was a stomach bug. They said there were no red flags to go to the hospital, [but] to go on Wednesday if it continued."

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However, that Monday evening, Layla began screaming in pain. She she that the pain was "all over". Jenna and Layla's mother decided to take her to hospital, but she collapsed in the bathroom and they had to carry her to the car. She became increasingly unresponsive. Staff at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital ran a CT scan and found the blood clot in her brain. Layla underwent surgery at Hull Royal, but she was later pronounced brain dead.

Layla's family are devastated by her death (YORKSHIRE LIVE/MEN MEDIA)

Jenna added: "The fact that they said there were no red flags and then a day later she's brain dead, it's incomprehensible. It's just such a shock. The family's absolutely devastated." Layla's family made the decision to donate her organs. They have been told that this has led to five lives being saved just before Christmas, something Jenna says is "amazing".

Jenna's daughter, Alicia Binns, is running a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise money for Layla's family, especially given how close it is to Christmas. Launching the campaign, Alicia wrote: "She was only 16 years old when her life was unexpectedly taken. She was beautiful and intelligent, loved and cherished by so many people, and had her whole life ahead of her."

"The family is absolutely devastated, and we would like to help raise as much as possible to help with funeral costs to give Layla the best send-off possible, like she deserves. She was the oldest child and princess of the family, and she deserves the best because she was the best. Along with helping the family at this difficult time, especially this close to Christmas, every little helps."

You can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.

Sebastian McCormick