A 14-year-old girl from Dublin who was deemed ‘untransplantable' has successfully undergone a kidney transplant thanks to a new treatment.

The treatment allows patients who have previously rejected kidney transplants to receive a new organ. While the treatment has been carried out in adults before, this marked the first time it was carried out in a child.

Megan Carter underwent the operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London. She was born with kidney problems which lead her to undergo a kidney transplant in Dublin in 2011. However, Megan's body rejected the kidney leading it to be removed the very next day. As a result, she required life-saving dialysis on a daily basis.

Even though she was placed back on the transplant list, her chances of actually getting a new kidney were low because she had elevated antibodies. Kidney transplants are sometimes rejected as a result of proteins that fight against foreign objects or organs in the body.

These proteins are known as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies and when they are present, transplantation can become impossible.

While the number of children with HLA antibodies is usually low, the more transplants a person has, the more chance they will have them, and then these antibodies can go on to react with future transplants.

"As multiple transplants are becoming more common in children, the number who have HLA antibodies is increasing meaning a greater number of organs are at risk of rejection and more children are denied a transplant," the hospital pointed out.

This new technique works by removing HLA antibodies using a blood filtering process known as plasmapheresis. This involves taking blood out of the body, filtering it to remove HLA antibodies and re-introducing it back into the patient.

"As there will still be antibodies in the body after plasmapheresis, which can react when the kidney is transplanted, this treatment requires strong drugs to be administered to children in order to dampen down the immune system and reduce the likelihood of the antibodies causing severe rejection of the kidney. In the past, patients would have lost these kidneys due to severe rejection, resulting in the need for dialysis," the hospital said.

The first three months after the procedure are therefore crucial as the patient's immune system is suppressed.

As Megan's chances of receiving a new kidney were so low, her parents felt that they had hit a brick wall, until they were approached by Dr Stephen Marks, a consultant paediatric nephrologist and lead of the kidney transplant programme at GOSH.

"This is the first time this procedure has been performed in the United Kingdom in a child, which is important as children have different immune systems compared to adults. Historically, children with HLA antibodies would not be able to receive kidneys from living donors and would be on the waiting list for deceased donor kidney transplants with very little chance of being offered an organ," Dr Marks said.

He outlined the technique to the Carter family, explaining that Megan's father, Edward, who had not been considered a viable option as a donor, could now give his daughter one of his kidneys.

"After travelling to GOSH and having her antibodies removed over an intense week, Megan successfully received a kidney transplant from her father. After the transplant, the family noticed an immediate difference in Megan with Megan's mum, Carol, saying it was ‘like she had come to life in front of our eyes. Her hair was glossy, eyes were bright, colour in cheeks and she was the child that we should have had before,'" the hospital noted.

It is now three months on and Megan's immune system is almost up to full strength. Her parents said she is a happy child, is not tired anymore and has ‘got her life now'.

"Kidney transplantation offers the best quality and quantity of life for children with severe irreversible kidney failure and the new technique could make transplants possible in these children where they weren't before, avoiding their reliance on dialysis," Dr Marks added.