Parents proud of deceased donor son

The parents of Britain’s youngest organ donor said knowing their newborn son saved someone’s life had given them a great deal of comfort.

Teddy Houlston died only 100 minutes old because of a rare fatal condition that stopped his skull and brain from developing in the womb. His mother Jess Evans learned the news 12 weeks into her pregnancy with twins.

However, the 28-year-old and her fiance Mike Houlston were determined their son’s short life would make a big difference and allowed for his kidneys and heart valves to be donated.

And the Cardiff couple have spoken of their pride knowing their son had helped save the life of a man in Leeds who was suffering with renal failure.

Evans said: “Knowing that part of your loved one is living on in someone else is comforting. If it stops any other person going through the same thing then this can only be good.

“Teddy’s life had a very important role to play. Unless you have been through the same thing or know someone affected it’s hard to understand how important organ donation is,” she said.

Babies who have the rare and lethal skull abnormality called anencephaly either die in the womb, are stillborn, or live for just minutes after birth.

Doctors had offered Teddy’s parents the option of an abortion, but the couple decided against it saying they would cherish even holding him for a moment.

Evans said: “Following Teddy’s diagnosis, we had some time to acclimatise to what might happen, therefore we decided early on as a family that we would want to go ahead with the pregnancy and donate his organs if this was possible.

“My mother was very keen to teach her own children about the importance of organ donation and I remember her talking to me about it when I was young. Even when I was in primary school I wanted to be on the organ donor register and encouraged friends, family, and boyfriends to sign up.