Alice Skinner

Alice was born in 2001 with Dyspastic Kidneys – which were severely affected – in fact the ‘kidneys’ were just stumps of tissue. The ‘stumps’ gave Alice a tiny amount of kidney function – enough to keep her going for her first six months.

Then her kidneys failed and Alice had to go straight on to dialysis. A form of Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD) was the choice – Alice needed to dialyse for ten hours each night, six nights out of seven. The difficulties for a family with a young baby on dialysis must have been considerable.

Once Alice had gained enough weight, she was placed on the UK Transplant register. Her father George offered to donate a kidney right away, but sadly this did not prove to be a good match for Alice. By August 2007, Alice was six years old and in year two. She attended school for two days each week – the other three days she travelled with George to clinic for her haemodialysis. By this time Alice had undergone 16 operations. A transplant was scheduled for November 2007, but did not go ahead.

In April 2008, a kidney was found for Alice and the transplant went ahead. For the first time in seven years, she is free of dialysis and attending school full time. Alice especially enjoys her school dinners – being able to eat and drink like all the other children. As for her father – he is so relieved!