Newry, Northern Ireland – A young girl’s remarkable resilience is shining through after a series of life-saving transplants. Etta Cartmill, a toddler, is thriving following a liver transplant, but now faces the need for a kidney, adding another chapter to a rare genetic battle shared with her brother.
A Family’s Fight Against an unnamed Illness
The Cartmill family navigates a rare genetic condition,TTC21B,requiring multiple organ transplants for their young children.
- etta and her brother,Olly,both have a rare genetic condition called TTC21B,leading to kidney failure.
- Olly received a kidney transplant in September 2023 from his grandmother.
- Etta underwent a life-saving liver transplant in September 2023 after a year of not knowing she needed one.
- Their mother,Dionne,is a match and will donate a kidney to Etta.
What exactly is TTC21B? It’s a genetic condition so rare it doesn’t even have a common name, causing kidney failure in both Etta and her older brother, Olly. The family’s journey highlights the challenges of navigating extremely rare diseases and the amazing power of organ donation.
Olly, weighing just 13kg (29lbs), underwent a kidney transplant in September 2023, receiving a life-saving donation from his grandmother, Michelle. His mother, Dionne Cartmill, described the change following the transplant: “He’s turned into the wee boy that he always should ha
I can’t wait to do it. Michelle did the first one and we were very, very lucky that some poor man passed away and we got his liver and now it’s going to be my turn and I can’t wait to do it.”
Etta and Olly both have the same rare condition.
This will be a third life-changing transplant surgery for the Cartmill family.
