Wadebridge Mum Whose Son Saved Four Lives Urges Donor Sign-Ups

Most parents have never thought about what they’d do in those impossible final hours. Gemma Kempthorne had, and that single conversation with herself, years before she ever needed it, meant her son Theo saved four lives the day he died.

Gemma, 34, from Wadebridge, lost her eight-year-old son Theo in 2024 after a medical device he relied on suddenly malfunctioned. In the hours that followed at Bristol Children’s Hospital, she made a decision that gave four other people, including another child, a future.

A Conversation She’d Already Had With Herself

Theo was born with hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain, and had a shunt fitted at birth to drain it. He lived eight largely healthy years before the device catastrophically failed, causing unsurvivable brain damage.

When doctors told Gemma the news, organ donation was already on her mind. Years earlier, during her pregnancy with Theo, she’d read a news article about a baby needing a transplant and another baby who had become a donor. Her 20-week scan had flagged the hydrocephalus, and she’d been having difficult conversations with medics about what might happen if Theo didn’t make it.

“I’d been having conversations about resuscitation and things like that if Theo was born really poorly. I’d seen an article about a baby needing a transplant, and it made me think, if Theo wasn’t going to survive, what I would do,” she said.

“Fortunately, Theo was born healthier than expected, and I didn’t have to think about it for eight years at all. It wasn’t until that day that I had to think about it again.”

At the hospital, the answer came quickly. “The neurosurgeons told me that he had an unsurvivable condition. I kind of knew, I had that intuition that he was gone,” Gemma said. “I instantly just asked about organ donation. I think they were a bit taken by surprise, but I told them I’d already had that conversation with myself when I was pregnant with him about what I would do.”

The Boy Who Loved Sandpits and Cuddles

Theo was eight. He liked school, water, sand, Bing, Paw Patrol and giving cuddles.

“Theo used to enjoy the simple things, but they would make him happy,” Gemma said. “He used to trail sand across the floor when he came home from school every day. He’d be in the sandpit and throw it all over himself, and no matter how much they tried to stop him, that wasn’t going to happen!”

His heart went to another child. His kidneys, pancreas and liver were given to three adults in their 30s, one of them a father. Four lives in total.

“A Part Of Him Is Living On”

“I’d give anything to have Theo back, but he’s left that legacy behind and been able to help other families not have to lose someone and given them their life back,” Gemma said.

“I wish well to the people he donated to, and I hope their transplants have been successful. It’s bittersweet for me that I’ve had to lose Theo, nothing’s going to take that pain away, but a part of him is living on.”

She added that the scale of need has become clearer to her since. “Over this last couple of years, I’ve realised how many people there are that really need an organ transplant. I live in a small town, but there are two or three people I know waiting for kidney transplants just in this area alone.”

Why Gemma Wants You To Sign Up Every Three Years

The organ donor register can be signed more than once, and repeated sign-ups create a record of consistent lifelong wishes, which can give families certainty when the worst happens. Gemma is now urging adults to renew their decision every three years.

“People don’t want to think about it, until it happens, and unless you’ve thought about it beforehand, it’s just easier to say no,” she said.

“Young children can’t make that decision for themselves, but for adults, it’s really easy to sign the register because you know what you want. I think organ donation needs to be spoken about more in general. There isn’t that much time when it happens, and no one wants to make the wrong decision.”

Anthony Clarkson, NHSBT Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, said: “We are most grateful to Gemma for sharing hers and Theo’s story. At the most difficult time, Gemma knew that she wanted Theo to be able to help others.

“Her decision was prompted by a news article like this one, which meant that, although Theo couldn’t be saved, four other lives were, including another child’s.

“Reading this article might prompt you to consider becoming an organ donor, and the best way to record your decision is to sign the organ donor register. That way, your family will have no doubt about your wishes.

“Considering your decision now could make a decision on the hardest day of your family’s lives so much easier, should the worst happen.”

To sign the organ donor register, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit the NHS Organ Donor Register.