Son gives mum a Mother's Day thank you for his new kidney

Mum Aisha and Aadam recovering from his kidney transplant at Evelina London.

Aadam Ab has arranged a special Mother’s Day thank you for his mum after she donated one of her kidneys to him.

Aadam, 17, from Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire, was born with a genetic condition meaning his kidneys did not work properly.  He lived a normal life until the age of 13 when his family started to notice there was something wrong. Aadam began drinking excessive amounts of water each day but still felt thirsty.

His mum, Aisha Islam, said: “It was Aadam’s nan that first had a feeling something was wrong. We took Aadam to the local GP and they said straight away that they thought there was a problem with his kidneys.”

Following a referral to Evelina London Children’s Hospital in 2013, Aadam has been under the care of our Kidney Service. The team diagnosed Aadam’s genetic condition and discovered his kidney function was only a quarter of what it should be, meaning he would eventually need a kidney transplant. Aadam became increasingly tired and felt very sick. He lost interest in normal activities due to feeling unwell.

Donors and those receiving a kidney need to have a compatible blood group and tissue type so Aadam’s mum underwent tests to check her compatibility. Not everyone is able to donate to a direct relative so Aisha was delighted when she found out she was a match.

Aisha, 37, said: “I cried tears of joy when I found out I could donate my kidney to Aadam. It couldn’t have been any other way, all I wanted was to be able to give him back his quality of life. It’s a small thing for me to be able to give a piece of me to help Aadam, I didn’t think twice about it. When Aadam found out I was a match he hugged me so tight.”

Aadam said: “I was so happy my mum was a match. I’m just so grateful to her. I have something special to say thank you on Mother’s Day but it’s a surprise.”

Aadam is recovering well following the transplant which took place on 14 March and is looking forward to getting back to playing sports. He said: “I used to get really exhausted so I can’t wait to just get back to doing normal stuff, especially sports and football.”

The children’s kidney transplantation service at Evelina London is one the largest in the UK.

Read more about Kidney Services at Evelina London.