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A schoolgirl's dream of finding a kidney donor is almost over.
Emily, 13, of Dumergue Avenue, Queenborough, was struck down by the deadly E. coli virus while on holiday in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada in May 2016.
She spent a week on life-support and has to endure daily dialysis sessions.
Now her friend Cordelia Morgan, the daughter of Emily’s mum Rachel’s partner, Robert, has offered her own kidney. The transplant is to go ahead on Tuesday, August 13.
Cordelia, 21, from Princes Avenue, Minster, said: “We are all very excited. Emily was ecstatic and jumped up and down in the hospital when she heard I was a match. It was quite a moment.”
Doctors in Egypt initially diagnosed Emily as having a stomach upset. But within 24 hours of landing in the UK her organs began to shut down and she was rushed to a London hospital.
It had been hoped Emily’s kidneys would recover but she continued to need dialysis and a £12,000-a-year cocktail of anti-immune drugs.
Last year when Emily showed signs of improvement doctors allowed her to go on holiday with her brother Harry, Cordelia and Mr Morgan’s son Elliott.
Cordelia said: “It allowed Emily to swim and take part in normal activities. But shortly after she came home, her health began to deteriorate again.”
She now spends four hours at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, in Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth, three days a week.
Cordelia, who works as a care coordinator at ApproCare, Blue Town, said: “I could see the strain on Emily and her family and went to be tested as a potential donor. After weeks of waiting, I came up as an almost perfect match despite not being related in any way.”
She added: “We are both very excited. I would encourage anyone to step forward to become a living donor to give someone a better quality of life.”
Emily is a former pupil of Queenborough Primary School. She had been hoping to take up a place at Sittingbourne Community College but has been too ill to attend.
