Family looking to have ‘best Christmas ever’ after their daughter’s given the ‘Gift of Life’ through organ donation
The festive period is a special time of the year - not for the presents, the Boxing Day bargains and the twinkling decorations; but for the time we spend with our families and loved ones. Last Christmas mum and dad, Rachael and Tom Barker, took their two-year-old, Clara, to visit family in the Canadian Rockies and made memories that will last a lifetime. Their world changed just a few weeks after returning to the UK when their daughter fell ill. 
In early February, Clara went to her nursery near to her Bristol home as usual but she fell ill suddenly – feeling sick with her skin turning yellow.
Tom said: “It just came out of the blue. It was around the time when there were reports of children being taken ill with liver problems.
“You always seem to think to yourself that it’s something that happens in other families. You never think it would happen to you but with our little girl, the clock was ticking. She didn’t have a lot of time.”
Clara was taken to Bristol Children’s Hospital where she was diagnosed with acute liver failure with seronegative hepatitis and placed on the list for an urgent transplant.
Within 24 hours she was transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital – home to one of the busiest paediatric Liver Units in the world where, since becoming the first to carry out such a procedure in 1989, more than 1,000 transplantation operations have been carried out.
The toddler received support from the hospital’s dedicated Liver team and its Paediatric Intensive Care Unit before, just a few days later, the family received the call they’d been praying for. A donor organ had been found.
A specialist surgical team carried out the life-saving operation, which took around eight hours.
Tom said: “Without the transplant, she wouldn’t have made it. Living through that time was horrendous. The mental turmoil this caused my family was beyond awful.
“We’d like to say a massive thanks to the donor along with all of the other colleagues across Birmingham and Bristol Children’s Hospital who have helped to keep our little one with us and back home so we can have another Christmas – this year will be even better than the last.”
Clara was cared for at Birmingham Children’s Hospital for six weeks post-surgery before returning to their home where her dog, Murphy, was excited to see her – a feeling that was very much reciprocated.
Since then she’s done really well and is back to being a happy, playful and adventurous toddler.
Mum, Rachael, said: “She’s such a little joy, so clever and she really loves her books. She’s always playing, she loves her grandma and granddad, and she loves her play dough. We’re so lucky to be able to spend another Christmas with her as she turns three very soon. 
“This is her first proper Christmas where she can remember things, we’ve already met Father Christmas and she loved it. You wouldn’t think just by looking at her with how much she’s been through – she just carries on living the life of a three-year-old. We’re so privileged to have her home and well for Christmas.”
Dr Chayarani Kelgeri, Consultant Hepatologist at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, was part of the team that cared for Clara. She said: Clara was very poorly with a failing liver when she came over to us.
“Her resilience, along with that of her parents, was amazing. It’s such an ordeal to go through.
“We remain forever grateful to donors and their families who make such selfless decisions to give the ‘Gift of Life’ to others when they are going through a time of grief.
“We’ 
re passionate supporters of organ donation want to raise awareness so we are able to help more children like Clare in the future.”
This festive period please take the time to register your decision to become an organ donor and remember to share your wishes with your loved ones. A conversation lasting just a few minutes could mean you give someone the most precious gift ever.
Visit https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk to find out more.