Boy, 3, desperate search for a new liver after heartbreaking cancer fight

05 September 2023 , 14:50

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Ralph Tatham (Image: PA)

The parents of a three-year-old with liver cancer have spoken out about the need for more child organ donors.

Katie and Graham Tatham are hoping for a donor for their son Ralph and feature in a new NHS campaign. In 2021/22, 52 percent of families gave consent for their child’s organs to be donated, resulting in 40 organ donors under the age of 18. But with 243 children waiting for a transplant, the NHS is calling for more families to register as donors together.

The Tathams, from London, said: “To hear your child has cancer and watch them go through cancer treatment is the worst thing you could ever imagine. Having your child be on the list for a transplant and waiting each day in hope for a call is torture. Because Ralph has cancer, we don’t have that much time, so each day that the call doesn’t happen, we lose a little bit of hope that it will come in time.

“It’s also very hard that the only thing that can save your child is another child’s organs – that is a really difficult thing to process.” The new ad campaign is called ‘Consider This’ and is led by NHS Blood and Transplant. Since 2020, the law in England has been one of presumed consent to donation, following a three-year Mirror campaign.

Katie Tatham with son Ralph (PA)

But grieving families still need to give permission for organs to be used. Angie Scales, lead nurse for paediatric donation at NHSBT, said: “For many children on the transplant waiting list, their only hope is the parent of another child saying ‘yes’ to donation at a time of immense sadness. But families tell us that agreeing to organ donation can also be a source of comfort and pride.

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“We ask that families take a moment to consider and confirm their support for organ donation, so it is not something you have to discuss for the first time should the unthinkable happen. We also know that many children respond positively to the idea of organ donation, so this is something which can easily be discussed in a simple way by the whole family.

“With more people confirming their support for organ donation on the NHS Organ Donor Register, we hope to be able to save more lives of children like Ralph, both today and in the future.”

Martin Bagot