Louise May Prashad, Age 30, Leeds, Leeds Adults, Liver Transplant
At 22-years-old in 2016, Louise was 34 weeks pregnant with twins and began experiencing symptoms of excessive thirst, jaundice, stomach pain and lethargy. At 37 weeks, she collapsed at home and was taken to her local hospital in York in a critical condition.
She was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, ACUTE Fatty Liver in Pregnancy, with symptoms including jaundice, bleeding and elevated protein levels. This caused rapid liver failure and Louise needed an emergency liver transplant, with just 8 hours to find a suitable donor before it became potentially fatal.
Louise was transferred to St James’ hospital in Leeds and placed on the super urgent transplant list. Her family were called to discuss options and told to prepare for the worst. Luckily, 8 hours later a match was found, and she was taken to theatre for transplant surgery – where she received a successful liver transplant but very sadly, her twins did not survive.
Two weeks later, Louise was lucid and thought she was on the maternity ward – she had no memory of what had happened. Her journey of battling grief, surviving the procedure with only a 10% chance of surviving is remarkable. She has used her experience to raise awareness about organ donation, something that has allowed her to have a second chance at life.
In March 2018, Louise gave birth to her baby Ava, and in 2020, found out she was pregnant with twins again. Sadly during pregnancy, her transplanted liver began to show signs of rejection, and they had to make the heart breaking decision to undergo a selective reduction, with a high chance of organ failure and a repeat of ALFP. During the covid pandemic, one of her babies joined her brother and sister in heaven. They welcomed Nico into the world in November 2020.
Since her transplant, Louise has become part of Team Leeds, competing at the British Transplant Games in 2022 and 2023 where she won 5 gold medals in track and field events, and recently competed in the 2024 Games in Nottingham. She has also got married, graduated with an LLB in Law, quit her job to work for Leeds Hospitals Charity, and started her own business ‘Kiind’. Running over 120 races since 2018, Louise has raised over £25,000 for Tommys and the British Liver Trust.
In July 2024, Louise ran an ultra-marathon (30 miles) to promote the power of organ donation, fundraising in aid of Leeds Hospitals Charity and Leeds Adults Transplant Team. Running from Oldham to Leeds, the route passed through the graves of her twins to the hospital where her transplant took place.
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