The anguish of waiting was succeeded by great relief. The parents of little Chloé, 2 and a half years old, start the year with the joy of knowing that their child is saved. Suffering from “very severe hypokinetic dilated cardiomyopathy”, a rare heart disease, the little girl received the heart of another child of the same age, at Necker hospital, on the night of January 2 to 3.
On social networks, the parents, inhabitants of Tourville-la-Rivière in Seine-Maritime expressed their deep gratitude to the parents of this donor whose identity must remain anonymous. “We wanted to offer our most sincere condolences to this family who has just experienced this tragedy and wanted to thank them with all our heart because despite their grief, they were able to show enough strength, courage and humanism to give back life to children who were awaiting a transplant (…) We will never be able to thank them enough for this magnificent gift, but we want them to know that we are aware of its value. that we will take care of him every day that passes,” the parents wrote on Facebook.
Chloe’s story had moved social networks, on which parents had become accustomed to giving news of the state of health of their little girl. Many funds had been collected to help the parents stay with their daughter, treated in Paris.
Very few donors under the age of five
Without this heart transplant, Chloe’s life hung by a thread. Since September 16, 2014, the little girl was connected to an artificial heart and under respiratory assistance. His failing heart was only functioning at 10% capacity. It’s almost a miracle that Chloe was able to find a heart from a child her age. Hearts from brain-dead donors of this age are very difficult to obtain.
Sick children under the age of five awaiting a transplant generally suffer from the shortage of deceased donors in this age group, recalls the Biomedicine Agency.
For a transplant, a child from 0 to 2 years old must wait on average 3 months, against 7 months for children from 3 to 5 years old.
>> To read also: Transplant: a hospital authorized to remove organs after controlled heart failure
