Grandmother’s plea for kidney after donor backs out
Daughter describes 'huge rollercoaster' as 68-year-old is now back to square one
A grandmother of four has issued a plea for a potential kidney donor after a match withdrew at the eleventh hour.
A year after Jewish News issued a community-wide appeal, 68-year old Ruth Adley from Barnet is now back to square one. She has Crohn’s disease as well as polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which has left both her kidneys covered in inoperable cysts and her kidney function at a dangerously low 13 percent. This time last year, it was at 16 percent.
Daughter Tasha Langleben has called the last year a “huge rollercoaster”. She says: “A number of incredible people came forward to offer to be a donor. Extraordinarily, the first person who went through the testing process was a match. They had to go through the initial blood test, then some further matching tests and finally some tests to confirm she was physically fit to have the operation. We were all ecstatic that a match had been found and we starting to look at timelines.”
Due to the complications of Ruth having Crohn’s disease, she needs two complex operations for this transplant. The first will involve removing her kidney using robotics and then after some dialysis, the second will involve putting the donor kidney in.
Tasha adds: “Just as we were looking at dates, the donor withdrew because of personal circumstances changing. As you can imagine, this was heartbreaking.”
Devastated, the family returned to the existing list of donors but “unfortunately a few were no longer able to offer due to their own change of circumstances and another two were not matches.
In the last year, Ruth’s condition has deteriorated further, so finding a donor is more important than ever.
Tasha says that winter is particularly hard because her mum’s main symptoms are extreme fatigue and being very cold all the time. “We are appealing for another ridiculously kind person to come forward, it only takes one person to be a match and save a life and as we approach Chanukah, we’re looking for our own miracle.”
Ruth, an Arsenal fan who loves playing cards, going to the cinema and spending time with her family, told Jewish News: “I was completely overwhelmed that anyone would make such a selfless offer for a stranger and now I’m asking once again, if there might be anymore incredible people, who would be willing to be tested.”
If you are willing to be tested, please email kidney4ruth@gmail.com
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
