Tragic pregnant asthma victim donates organs

Selfless Nikita Mollon and her unborn son passed away in intensive care six days after the young mum suffered a severe asthma attack at her Broxburn home on July 18.

Despite her heart stopping for 10 minutes, her partner William Green managed to restart it before paramedics arrived.

Her mother Bridget Norwood, 44, today said two patients had already received Nikita's kidneys and both are believed to be recovering well.

It is understood Nikita was 12 weeks pregnant when she died and is survived by her five-year-old daughter Shannon.

Mrs Norwood described her daughter as a "bubbly person" who loved singing and habitually watched the music channels on TV.

"Nikita knew she was pregnant and she was absolutely sure it was a boy and she was right," Mrs Norwood was reported to have said. "She had stopped smoking and was going to the gym and wanted to get healthy and everything was going well for them. They were a happy family and it was snatched away.

"Nikita had put herself on the organ donor register, that was the kind of person she was, and we've been told one of her kidneys has gone to someone in Edinburgh and another to a person in Glasgow.

"They're apparently doing well and are both off dialysis, so it's nice to know part of Nikita is still living."

Mrs Norwood's granddaughter Shannon had been living with her since the tragedy. She said the youngster was giving her and her partner Gordon Forrester strength to "keep going".

"She's not been too bad, she has ups and downs, but we're going to put a memorial in our garden so she doesn't have to go the cemetery and we've told her she can talk to her mum whenever she wants," she reportedly said.

Nikita's grandparents, brother Robert, father Steven and stepmum Georgie were said to "devastated" by her death. But her mother stressed that relatives were heartened to know her kidneys had helped save two peoples' lives and she praised staff at St John's Hospital for their care and professionalism,

"The nurses and doctors were fantastic, the care she got was unreal," she said. "They did their best for her. I don't think people realise how serious asthma can be.

"Apparently, the period between zero and 12 weeks is the most dangerous time in pregnancy if you have asthma. I certainly didn't know that and neither did Nikita and we had read lots of books about asthma. I suppose I hope people will maybe be more aware of how serious asthma can be."