{"id":402616,"date":"2026-04-21T01:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T01:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/402616\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T01:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T01:17:13","slug":"blood-donors-give-baby-the-gift-of-life-while-hes-still-in-womb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/402616\/","title":{"rendered":"Blood donors give baby the gift of life while he\u2019s still in womb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arthur Ransom was a history maker before he was born. The boy was the size of an avocado, still in his mother\u2019s womb, when he became the UK\u2019s youngest ever blood transfusion patient.<\/p>\n

Arthur\u2019s mother, Maisie Ransom, was 16 weeks pregnant when her baby developed a life-threatening infection that caused his organs to begin shutting down due to a lack of oxygen.<\/p>\n

The only hope of survival for Arthur was a rare and high-risk procedure called an intrauterine transfusion (IUT), relying on blood from NHS \u00addonors. Doctors use a needle to \u00adtransfuse concentrated red blood cells directly through the uterus and into the\u00a0baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MaisieMaisie and Keith RansomPA<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so small the doctors were working within millimetres,\u201d recalled Ransom, who had the procedure in 2024 at St George\u2019s Hospital in London. \u201cThe experience was absolutely terrifying. The doctor said it was 50\/50 \u00adwhether he would make it or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor had to be incredibly \u00adprecise and I am still baffled at what she was able to do in that room. There were a lot of people. It took a lot of skill and steady nerves. The room was silent other than when the lead surgeon was speaking. Once the procedure was over it felt like everyone was frozen, waiting to see if he would survive that initial step.\u201d<\/p>\n

The blood delivered oxygen to \u00adArthur\u2019s body, meaning the fluid that had surrounded his heart and organs could be reabsorbed and normal \u00adfunction could resume. He was born in January last year and is now a \u201creally chirpy little\u201d one-year-old who has reached all his key milestones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout that blood he would not have made it \u2014 his organs were failing, his heart was completely enveloped in fluid and it was struggling to pump,\u201d Ransom, 30, a primary school teacher from Cranleigh in Surrey, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf nothing was done, he would not have made it much longer. The doctor said to the best of her knowledge there was no one younger to get an intra\u00aduterine transfusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NHS performs fewer than 200 IUTs on babies per year who have severe anaemia, the condition where a\u00a0person has a lack of red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body. They are usually not performed until 18\u00a0weeks of pregnancy, as before then \u00adbabies are too small.<\/p>\n

Arthur\u2019s anaemia was caused by an infection called parvovirus, which is usually harmless to children but can cause severe illness in unborn babies.<\/p>\n

Ransom, who is married to Keith, 36, added: \u201cArthur\u2019s doing great now. He\u2019s a\u00a0really chirpy little boy, reaching all the\u00a0milestones. He\u2019s very handsome and developing normally. He keeps us on our toes. I think every day about how lucky I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoPA<\/p>\n

She said that there were \u201cno words to express the gratitude\u201d she has for the blood donors who had \u201cgiven my boy the chance to be here\u201d.<\/p>\n

The blood used in IUTs is provided by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which specially selects it from donors who meet several strict criteria. Donors need to be men and have type O blood which is \u201cKell negative\u201d. Their blood is made into small packs of extremely concentrated red cells, which are then transfused via \u00adneedle and guided by ultrasound, usually into a vessel in the umbilical cord.<\/p>\n

Dr Luci Etheridge, consultant paediatrician and chief medical officer at St George\u2019s, said: \u201cFor babies like Arthur, a blood transfusion while still in the womb can mean the difference between life and loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Anne Kelly, paediatric trans\u00adfusion and components clinical expert for NHSBT, said: \u201cIntrauterine trans\u00adfusions are very rare. They are only done in specialised units when absolutely needed to help save a life. While they can be given as late as 34-35 weeks gestation, most are given earlier. The procedure is carried out under contin\u00aduous ultrasound guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

NHSBT has identified eight blood donors whose blood has been used three times each to make blood for this special type of transfusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Bickley, 45, who has been identified as one of the men who has donated the most for IUT procedures, said he started donating blood because of his mother\u2019s \u201cgenerous heart\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul BickleyPA<\/p>\n

The father of four from Richmond, southwest London, who is a vice-president of an insurance company, said: \u201cI started donating because my mum and dad donate. My mum told me it is a good thing to do to give back literally and metaphorically to society.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just has a generous heart. As the\u00a0years went on and we had our own children I just realised life is very \u00adprecious and that kept me donating. Hearing my blood was used in this way almost made me cry. To think a very small act of kindness on my part could have such a massive impact. It was mind-blowing and miraculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Smith, 64, from Westminster, has also been identified as a donor whose blood has been used the most for these specialist transfusions.<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid SmithPA<\/p>\n

The retired heating and ventilation engineer, who has donated more than 80 times overall, said: \u201cYou can\u2019t not do it if you can help babies. You have to. It\u2019s always a pleasure to donate, whether it\u2019s used for babies or for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graeme Kay, 70, a classical music journalist, choir conductor and former BBC Radio 3 and 4 music producer, from Orford in Suffolk, has donated more than 60 times. <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI find it quite relaxing to \u00addonate. Once the needle is in, you can do nothing except look at your phone or\u00a0daydream. The whole environment is really nurturing, being with the \u00addonation team and seeing other people \u00adstepping in to donate. <\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing you are helping an unborn baby does add extra value to the feeling of donating. It makes you feel good. It\u2019s\u00a0amazing to know my blood has been\u00a0used for this the joint most in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arthur Ransom was a history maker before he was born. The boy was the size of an avocado,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[163,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-402616","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}