Two years ago Johnians Katie and Graham Tatham (2006) never dreamed they would become leaders of a campaign to raise awareness for paediatric organ donation in the UK. Their involvement in the ‘Waiting to Live’ campaign was motivated by a difficult and heart-breaking situation with their then three-year-old son, Ralph. Ralph was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in January 2023, and over the course of the year he faced unimaginable challenges, including 11 rounds of intense chemotherapy, numerous scans, blood transfusions and an operation for an aborted liver transplant.
Ralph’s only chance for a cure was through a multi-organ transplant, encompassing the liver, bowel and pancreas. The gravity of his situation was further compounded by the fact that the donor pool for this specific match is alarmingly small in the UK. Throughout 2023 Katie and Graham resolved to raise awareness for the 230 children in the UK that were awaiting organ transplant, creating the ‘Waiting to Live’ campaign.
Working with the NHS and the marketing agency Wunderman Thompson UK, handmade dolls tailored to look like each child were placed in hospitals across the country. Each doll wears a badge inviting passers-by to scan a QR code so they can listen to audio recordings of real children telling their stories about needing an organ transplant. The aim of this campaign is to encourage people to consider organ donation and to normalise the conversation surrounding child organ donation. The number of children awaiting transplants has now risen to 259, and the need to raise awareness remains.
As the months passed, the Tathams began a fundraising campaign* to take Ralph to America for his transplant – the US has a much larger pool of donors and a much higher percentage of families giving consent for their children’s donations. Against all odds, earlier this year Ralph was finally selected for his desperately-needed multi-organ transplant here in the UK. After a four-month hospital stay he was able to return home. Despite what life has thrown at him, Ralph’s energy and resilience have been nothing short of miraculous. Katie explains, ‘Daily life post-transplant hasn’t been easy for him or the family – he has to endure a high amount of medical intervention and care on a daily basis with frequent trips back to hospital, but he has taken this all in his stride.’
Unfortunately their challenges didn’t end with the transplant. ‘Ralph’s energy and vitality make it all the harder to digest the devastating news we received over the summer: Ralph’s cancer had returned. As we were just about figuring out our new normal as a family, we had the heartbreak of knowing that things would once again get very tough for Ralph and it felt especially cruel when he seemed to be doing so well.’ Ralph returned home after surgery to remove the cancer and was recovering well but unfortunately his latest scans show more surgery is needed to remove further cancer spots. ‘We pray that this is just yet another hurdle our tough little Ralph must overcome.’
During countless moments watching him enjoy simple pleasures in life, like enjoying ice cream, picking strawberries, chasing his baby brother, dancing and walks through the forest, Graham and Katie remember the incredible family who made Ralph’s transplant possible. Katie reflects, ‘It’s in moments like these we are grateful beyond words to our donor family. We think about them all the time and words will never do justice to the brave decision they made to give Ralph a second chance at life.’
Though their own son received the gift of life through organ donation, their passion to raise awareness for other children in need of transplants has not waned. On World Organ Donation Day (13 August), Katie posted on social media, ‘Thinking of all the current and future children and their families who find themselves in the same place we did… please register today.’
Click here to register for organ donation. Follow Ralph’s story on Instagram or Facebook.
*The Tathams have paused Ralph’s GoFundMe account while he continues undergoing surgeries and treatment.