Grieving Family Fights Liver Donor Shortage

0:00On March 10, a coroner has warned of a national shortage of liver donors that risks lives after a 14-year-old girl died waiting for a super-urgent transplant. Maisie Almond suffered sudden acute liver failure with no clear cause and passed away on October 2, 2024, from brain swelling and multi-organ damage. She first fell ill on September 15, complaining of stomach pain and was rushed to the hospital the next day. Doctors diagnosed hepatitis, and after worsening over 10 days with multiple admissions, she transferred to a specialist liver unit in Leeds On, September 26. Her parents called her the happiest, kindest daughter, always smiling and chatting with dreams of backpacking the world and becoming an accountant. They described their grief as utterly heartbreaking after losing their model pupil who held two part-time jobs. The coroner highlighted how donor livers for children in super-urgent cases have dropped by a third, stretching weights from 48 hours to up to. A week, limited options from brain-desk donors only, not cardiac ones, heightened the danger

1:05unless changes happen soon. Maisie's family launched Maisie Mous missions, a charity pushing organ and blood donation to honor her and fight the shortage head-on.