Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
'Bonkers' match has given teen new kidney
Daily Express
|March 13, 2026
A MOTHER seeking a kidney donor for her daughter was astonished when the journalist she contacted to share her appeal ended up being a match and giving the organ.
Maya Solecki, 16, needed a transplant after suffering severe damage to her kidneys following an e-coli infection in January 2024.
Mum Maria tested herself but was not a suitable donor — nor were other family members or Facebook friends.
So she took her appeal to her local newspaper, the Echo, in March 2025 and in a "very unexpected twist", the journalist she contacted was a match.
Gratitude
Maria described the coincidence as "really bonkers".
She hopes the reporter, Emma Palmer, 51, "remains part of Maya's life forever" after the January op.
This story is from the March 13, 2026 edition of Daily Express.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Daily Express
Daily Express
MIND THE GAP
CONSIDERING the number of title races he has been involved in, Pep Guardiola must know a thing or two about mind games.
2 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
Oil habits die hard...but is abandoning North Sea drilling right as Britain is hit by another energy shock?
TO drill or not to drill, that is the question. In the seven weeks since the Iran war exploded and sent oil and fuel prices surging the debate over North Sea oil and gas has intensified.
5 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
I would give anything for an hour with them now...
As actor Samuel West fronts a new television series about birdwatching with his friend Ade Edmondson, he tells CHRISTINE SMITH how his beloved hobby has helped him navigate grief after the loss of his parents Timothy West and Prunella Scales
6 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
TIME PM TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ERRORS
FURIOUS Labour MPs have turned on Keir Starmer as they urged him to take the blame for the Peter Mandelson scandal.
4 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
'Trump launched an attack on Mr Miliband's ban on new oil and gas exploration, branding it crazy and tragic'
While President Trump this week launched an attack on what he called Mr Miliband’s “crazy” ban on new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, branding it “tragic”.
1 min
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
Sobering scenario for pubs bearing name of disgraced Duke of York
MORE than a dozen pubs called the Duke of York have closed since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.
2 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
A 'titan' of an actor and writer
AWARD-WINNING Game Of Thrones actor Michael Patrick, also known as Michael Campbell, has died of motor neurone disease.
1 mins
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
Carlos out of Madrid
CARLOS ALCARAZ and Novak Djokovic will miss next week's Madrid Open.
1 min
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
Next chief Wolfson has designs on bumper £9.3m
NEXT boss Simon Wolfson took home a bumper £7.4m pay packet last year but his best ever pay day could be beaten by next year’s £9.3m, if the firm meets growth targets.
1 min
April 18, 2026
Daily Express
SLOT INSISTS HIS REDS CAN RISE TO CHALLENGE
ARNE SLOT is adamant Liverpool are up for a derby scrap against Everton - and has reiterated his team will be a completely different proposition next season.
2 mins
April 18, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size