Whitefield: 21-year-old man died after battle with bladder issue

Matthew Andrews, from Whitefield, had suffered with a posterior urethral valve from the age of 12 weeks old. 

A posterior urethral valve is an obstructive membrane which can obstruct or block the outflow of urine. 

Matthew battled with the condition until the point where one of his kidneys was working at a fraction of how it should function. 

When Matthew was 14, his mother, Victoria Andrews, donated one of her kidneys to him. 

However, the medication he took to prevent his body rejecting the kidney made him more susceptible to infections. 

In February this year, he was admitted to hospital. Doctors diagnosed him as having contracted sepsis. 

He was given medication in attempts to help him recover, but the sepsis had moved too fast and caused a severe injury in his brain. 

Matthew's condition did not improve and he was pronounced dead on February 14. 

An inquest into his death was held on Tuesday, June 4 at Bolton Coroners' Court. 

Matthew Andrews (Image: Family)

Coroner Michael Pemberton read out a statement from Matthew's mother, Victoria Andrews.

The inquest heard how he loved music and going to gigs, and of his strong love of films, as well as being interested in different directors and actors. 

At the hearing, Victoria added: "He would watch lots of films with subtitles, such as Chinese ones that I had never heard of." 

Matthew, of Parkside Mews, Whitefield, was also a fan of Manchester United and would go to games when he could, or would go to the pub to watch them on TV. 

Victoria described her son as a "kind, thoughtful person who would give help to anyone who needed it". 

She added after the inquest that "he will be missed". 

Matthew's health fluctuated in early February, deteriorating before getting better. However, on February 8, his condition worsened and he was taken to Salford Royal Hospital. 

The statement of Dr Gareth Thomas, who works in intensive care medicine at the hospital, was read out at the hearing. 

He told how Matthew was admitted to the hospital on February 8. 

He was diagnosed as having suffered a "hypoxic ischaemic brain injury" following a CT scan, and was in "septic shock". 

Matthew was treated with antibiotics, but when he was assessed on February 11, his "neurological condition did not improve". 

His family were told that he would not be able to survive and he was declared dead on February 14. 

Dr Anthony Thomas, who works in the critical care department at Salford Royal Hospital, gave evidence at the inquest. 

He described the infection that Matthew suffered as "very, very serious" and "absolutely life threatening". 

He added that the infection spread "really, really, quickly - basically overnight". 

He and Coroner Pemberton agreed on a medical cause of death for Matthew of a hypoxic ischaemic brain injury, caused by septicaemia, contributed to by renal failure caused by a posterior urethral valve (treated by a kidney transplant in 2017), immunosuppressant medication. 

Dr Thomas added: "There is nothing anybody could have done any differently.

"Matthew deteriorated really rapidly and I think that was because he developed the brain injury." 

Concluding, Coroner Michael Pemberton said: "It is very clear to me that Matthew was a very loved son, grandson and nephew, and that he had been a person who had adapted massively to the medical conditions that he had been diagnosed with. 

"He adapted to those conditions and was treated successfully to a great extent with love and care and determination from immediate relatives, particularly his mother, Victoria, who volunteered to be a donor for a kidney transplant." 

He gave a narrative conclusion into Matthew's death, saying: "Matthew Andrews died as a consequence of a naturally occurring disease which was contributed to by lifesaving immunosuppressive medication which followed a renal transplant in 2017."