Two children receive life-saving kidney transplants at Red Cross Hospital

The selfless act of organ donation has saved the lives of two young children at Red Cross War Memorial Hospital.

Meeka, 13, from Atlantis, and Ovayo, 6, from Delft, received kidney transplants on Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20, respectively, highlighting how organ donation can save lives.

Ovayo’s mother, Xolelwa Magqabi, said that her son is doing well.

“The Red Cross team really did an excellent job; my son having this transplant was a good Christmas present,” she said.

Ms Magqabi said that Ovayo came home from the hospital on Thursday, January 8, though he must still come to the children’s hospital for observation and check-ups.

She said her son's health complications started four years ago after she had noticed that he was losing weight and he became shorter.

Ms Magqabi said that she took him to the clinic, and afterwards, he fell and fractured his left arm and leg.

Ms Magqabi said that after his injuries, the health officials at the clinic noticed he had difficulty breathing.

Ms Magqabi said he had problems with his kidneys since he was four. The clinic transferred him to Tygerberg Hospital in 2024, and then he was transferred to the children’s hospital at the beginning of last year. 

Ovayo was put on dialysis treatment for the past year, with a device that was loaned by the children’s hospital, which allows parents to commence dialysis at home.

Ms Magqabi said she is happy that Ovayo is recovering.

“Especially now, he was always tired when going through dialysis; he found it painful,” she said. She said that her son uses a walking frame and he will return to school in the second term. 

Meeka’s mother, Murie Chapman, said that she is doing much better.

“The hospital provided a good service, and she returned home on Friday, January 9,” she said. Ms Chapman said Meeka encountered many health challenges since she was a small child.

She said Meeka had a problem with her kidneys from eight months old, though experience other problems like Asthma, Reflux, and bladder problems, which saw her in and out of the hospital for many years.

Ms Chapman said that Meeka received her first kidney transplant in 2022, though it failed. Meeka had to undergo dialysis at home for the past few years.

“Meeka was then on the waiting list for over three years and finally went for her kidney transplant last month,” she said.

She says her daughter has dreams of becoming a hairdresser someday and is looking forward to returning to the Robinhill special needs school in Atlantis.

Professor Mignon McCulloch, head of the Clinical Unit of Paediatric Nephrology and Solid Organ Transplantation at the children's hospital, speaking on behalf of the transplant team, said both of their patients were born with kidney problems. “Their kidneys stopped working, which required them to be on life-saving dialysis treatment,” she said.

Professor McCulloch said they were lucky that a family saw it good to donate their loved one’s organs.

“These children were lucky enough to receive a kidney each; it is amazing, which means after their operation, they can come off dialysis and return to school again,” she said.  

She said many child and adult patients are waiting for the donation of essential organs like kidneys, livers, hearts, and lungs. 

She said that information about organ donations can be obtained on the websites of reputable organisations such as Save Seven or the Organ Donor Foundation.

She advised anyone who is planning on becoming an organ donor to communicate with their families. “If in a tragic event, something happens to you, where you were in an accident, or something terrible has happened to you, where you are declared brain dead, you can donate your organs to other people,” she said.