Freddie had a corneal transplant

A family of 3 sitting in a grassy field. The adult on the left wears a green shirt and holds a baby in a checkered shirt and light-coloured pants. The adult on the right wears a white dress with floral patterns. 
There are no regrets. Even if it turns out he has no vision in that eye, the transplant saved his eye and gave him the best chance.

When Freddie was just 5 months old, his parents Rachel and Jack noticed something wasn’t right with his eye. Initially diagnosed as conjunctivitis, Freddie’s condition quickly deteriorated. After 3 doctor visits in just 36 hours, he was urgently airlifted from Dalby to Brisbane. Within 30 minutes of arriving at Queensland Children’s Hospital, Freddie was in surgery. 
  
A bacterial infection had caused severe damage to his cornea, leaving his eye completely white, scarred and at risk of permanent loss. The odds of this happening to a 5-month old baby was incredibly rare – estimated at one in a million.  

To give Freddie a fighting chance of keeping his eye and preserving his facial structure, Freddie had a corneal transplant at just 11 months old. The road to recovery was intense. For the first 72 hours post-transplant, he required eye drops every hour, around the clock. During this time, Freddie lost weight and needed to be tube-fed. Freddie went on to have 4 more surgeries by the age of 13 months.  
  
Despite the challenges, Freddie is now a happy toddler with an infectious smile. He has some vision loss on his left side but is thriving. 

‘There are no regrets,’ said Rachel. ‘Even if it turns out he has no vision in that eye, the transplant saved his eye and gave him the best chance.’ 
  
Freddie’s story has inspired many friends and family members to register as organ and tissue donors. ‘If something happened to my family and they could donate, I’d want to know they were registered,’ said Rachel. 

We want all Australians to talk about organ and tissue donation. If you want to be a donor, make sure you tell your family and friends.

Registering is easy and only takes one minute. All you need is your phone, Medicare card and one minute to register.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, your medical history, your lifestyle, what country you’re from or how healthy you are — you can still register as an organ and tissue donor.

The Organ and Tissue Authority acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present.

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