Dad gives girl, 4, liver to save her life in time for him to marry her mum
Little Lola Rose Raine beamed as she skipped down the aisle at her parents' wedding.
The four-year-old had dreamed about being a bridesmaid for mum Jane O’Neill and dad Alan Raine for months.
And it was a dream come true for the whole family because just eight months before their big day, Lola had been hours from death.
She suffered acute liver failure following a catastrophic reaction to a virus similar to a common cold.
It was only thanks to dad Alan – who gave Lola part of his liver – that his youngest daughter was still alive to be part of the wedding celebrations.
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Mum Jane said seeing Lola and her six-year-old sister Natalie-Grace standing proudly in their bridesmaid dresses “brought a lump to my throat”.
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Lola Rose needed the transplantOf the wedding in October, she said: “It was an incredible day, and it was made so special by Lola being able to be there.
“Knowing it was only made possible by Alan giving her part of his liver made it even more emotional.
“She’s always been a daddy’s girl – and it was daddy who ended up saving her.”
Full-time mum Jane, 25, recalled how Lola came down with a bug in February 2022.
The youngster seemed to recover well but Jane said: “About three weeks later, she came in to wake me up and said she didn’t feel well.
“I looked at her and was shocked to see that her eyes had turned a faint yellow colour.
“I knew something wasn’t right and rang 111 straight away. They told me to take her to hospital.”
There, medics confirmed that Lola had jaundice and tests showed her liver function was abnormal.
She was kept in hospital for five days but Lola’s condition started to deteriorate.
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Lola Rose in hospital
Lola (left) with her sister Natalie-GraceDoctors told her devastated parents she had adenovirus – which has symptoms similar to the common cold – but in Lola, it had led to the kind of acute liver failure usually caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
“The situation was worse than we could ever have imagined,” Jane said.
“The doctors told us that her liver was no longer working to clean out the toxins in her body and it was causing her brain to swell up.
“They told us that she was just hours from death. We were in complete shock. It didn’t seem real.”
Lola was put into an induced coma and added to the urgent transplant list for a new liver, but Jane and Alan feared a donor wouldn’t be found in time.
Desperate to help their daughter, the couple asked medics if they could give part of their own liver, instead of waiting for a match – and tests soon confirmed that Alan had the same blood match.
Normally, it takes around six weeks for all the necessary health checks to be carried out on living donors.
Lola Rose Raine is four years old
The family at the weddingBut Alan was rushed through in just 21 hours and on March 30 last year, the transplant went ahead.
Jane said: “It was all a blur. Alan lay in one operating theatre and Lola lay in the one next-door.
“It was the longest seven hours of my life but, eventually, the surgeon came in to tell me it had been successful. Alan’s liver had been put into Lola – such a special gift from her daddy.” Just five days after the transplant, Alan was allowed home, but Lola developed a blood clot and needed another op.
Six weeks later though, she was back home with the rest of her family in Gravesend, Kent.
Jane said: “It was such a relief when she was finally allowed home. Seeing her smiling, I thought my heart would burst.
“She couldn’t stop talking about the wedding and telling everyone we were getting married. She was so excited.”
But just a week before Alan and Jane’s big day on October 8, Lola developed a serious infection and had to go back into hospital.
Lola Rose at the wedding“It was devastating,” Jane said. “We told the doctors that we were getting married in a week and asked if she would recover in time but they told us they didn’t know.
Luckily, her body was not rejecting the liver but we just had to concentrate on her getting better.
“The nurses told her they were going to do everything they could to get her to the wedding on time.”
Lola was allowed home the night before the wedding and Jane said she looked amazing in her cream and pink bridesmaid dress with sparkly shoes.
“As she made her way down the aisle, guests were wiping away tears,” she said.
“Lola had such a big smile on her face, no one would ever have guessed she had been through such a big ordeal.
“She told everyone that doctors had put her liver in the bin and gave her a bit of daddy’s.
“She had to go back to hospital that night but was allowed home properly a few days later. She had been thrilled to make it to our wedding day.”
While Lola will need to take anti-rejection medicine for the rest of her life, she has recovered well – and liver transplants can last for up to 30 years.
The youngster’s doting dad Alan said: “I’m so glad my donation was able to save her life. When I knew I was a good enough match, I never hesitated to step forward and save her.”
Facts & figures
Some children can wait up to 18 months for a liver transplant but the average time is 74 days, or two-and-a-half months. Most livers come from deceased donors.
Living donors are often the child’s parents, but close relatives such as siblings and grandparents may be considered depending on their age.
Aunts, uncles and other family members or close friends may also be able to donate if they are a good match.
In the year to March 2022, 18 living donor transplants from an adult to a child took place in the UK.
A spokesman for the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation said: “The left side of the liver is used for child liver transplants and about 40% is taken during a live transplant.
“We are delighted that Lola’s transplant has been a success and glad that she is doing so well now.”
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