Our mum won the medical lottery: The amazing story of Claire’s one-in-a-million organ match

Doctors explained it was virtually impossible to match seriously ill Claire Thomson with another donor as being pregnant had flooded her body with antibodies which meant she would reject most kidneys.

Despite the bleak 2% chance of saving her life, stunned experts fought against the odds, eventually finding a one-in-a-million organ match that has been likened to winning a medical lottery.

It was a race against time, as the mum-of-three’s kidney function was rapidly failing, leading Claire to fear she wouldn’t live long enough to see her children grow up.

“Doctors couldn’t believe it,” said Claire, 37.

“I had been told the chances of finding a match were so very small that finding one is better than a lottery win.”

The incredible match means the former marketing manager can now focus on building a future with loving husband, Scott, and their beautiful children, Kyle, nine, Noah, seven, and Faye, two.

Claire was first diagnosed with cysts on her kidneys when she was 17.

However, it was while she was eight weeks pregnant with Faye that her kidney condition suddenly deteriorated.

Her kidneys’ performance fell to a quarter of what is required by a healthy adult.

In January, 2014, three months after Faye was born, Claire was placed on the transplant waiting list.

She had to juggle dialysis with looking after three young children, which she found “utterly exhausting”.

“I spent the nights on dialysis and struggled through the days,” she recalls.

“I would get the kids off to school and nursery and fall asleep again till they came home.

“During all this I wondered if I would ever live to see them grow up.

“I knew people who had gone on dialysis who didn’t survive long enough for a transplant.”

However medical tests then revealed she had developed antibodies making her a poor donor recipient.

The bombshell news was utterly shattering for the young family.

“Doctors told me it only happens to around 10% of women and the chances of finding a donor were incredibly small,” she said.

Her medical team explored ways of “stripping” Claire’s blood of antibodies, a step which would have allowed her sister Adele, 38, to donate one of her kidneys.

However “it was a long process” and with Claire’s kidney function deteriorating, the stress took its toll.

Claire was on her own with the children in Bearsden, Glasgow, when she received the phone call that would change her life.

“My mobile rang while I was sleeping,” she said.

“It was 12.20am and I almost didn’t answer it.

“Then I thought I’d better pick up.

“It was the hospital telling me a donor had come through.

“I was overjoyed and called Scott telling him to get back home now.”

Surgeons told Claire they had found what they call a triple zero match. It was perfect in every way – almost the same as receiving a kidney from a twin.

“It all happened so quickly I didn’t have a chance to worry, it was now or never,” she said of the three-hour op at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital a fortnight ago.

All Claire knows about the donor is that they lived hundreds of miles away, and that they shared a bond that will allow her to see her children grow up and thrive.

Her husband Scott is overjoyed.

“We are so relieved a perfect match was found,” said the 37-year-old who works for Manchester City FC.

“Doctors told us they never thought it possible. When we left hospital, Claire’s doctor said, ‘She is incredibly lucky’.”

Within two days, Claire’s little ones were allowed in to the hospital to see her.

“They were a bit scared at first but soon got used to me with the drips in,” she said. “It was lovely to see them again.

“I’d been through a lot but missed them and wondered how they were.

“Best of all, I felt a million times better. The exhaustion which dogged my life was lifting and the difference was fantastic.

“Family and friends say I look so much better too!

“Until now the kids had a mum who struggled to summon up the energy for anything. When a mum is ill the whole family is affected.”

Claire is now continuing her recovery at home and enjoying playing with her kids.

“Yesterday my little girl pointed to where the dialysis machine was in my bedroom and said, ‘All gone now Mummy’.

“It summed up my survival. I’m just so very grateful and happy.”

Claire is now campaigning to support the work of Kidney Research UK to find a cure for kidney cysts.

Claire supports Kidney Research UK’s research into cures and treatment for kidney disease. https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org

Have you got an amazing medical story? Contact Janet Boyle on 0141 567 2776 or jboyle@sundaypost.com