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An Imperfect Cure

The series concludes with An Imperfect Cure, following the staff of Great Ormond Street Hospital's renal department as they treat children for a condition which has no complete cure. Long-term treatment over decades requires an enormous level of cooperation and consent between the medical team, the patients and their parents. But what happens when parents and older children are unwilling to accept the doctors' advice? Doctors Lesley Rees, Rukshana Shroff and Sarah Ledermann must make complex decisions in a never-ending cycle of treatment: 4-month-old Alisha was born with kidney failure. Staff must try to keep her alive until she grows big enough to receive a kidney transplant, but as she suffers repeated infections which threaten her life, staff and her parents must consider whether it is right to carry on. 14-year-old Imaan's kidneys are slowly poisoning her and doctors want to remove them. She is terrified of surgery and refuses to have the operation. Can staff persuade her to go through with it? Bethany was born with mental and physical disabilities, including poorly functioning kidneys. Her father Paul is keen to donate his kidney to his daughter, but staff must decide whether she is likely to survive a transplant - and whether it would be in her best interest.

English
  • Originally Aired April 20, 2010
  • Runtime 60 minutes
  • Network BBC Two
  • Notes Is a season finale
  • Created September 25, 2012 by
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  • Modified September 25, 2012 by
    Administrator admin