A Good Morning Britain guest has opened up on their mum’s devastating d3ath, saying, “It was sudden”.
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On Thursday’s (December 18) broadcast of the popular ITV morning show, hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley brought viewers up to speed with the latest developments from across Britain and internationally.
Weather presenter Alex Beresford provided regular meteorological updates from the studio, whilst Ranvir Singh covered the remainder of the day’s headlines.
Later in the programme, Kate and Richard interviewed Genieva Owens, whose mother tragically died from kidney failure earlier this year. Genieva herself was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of just eleven.
The interview comes amid a new campaign urging Black Britons to undergo testing for a gene linked to kidney failure. The initiative is encouraging individuals of Caribbean or African descent to be screened for the APOL1 gene, which is believed to be carried by approximately 1 in 10 people, reports Wales Online.
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Kate Garraway supported a grieving guest on Thursday’s GMB(Image: ITV)
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Carriers of this gene face a significantly heightened risk of developing chronic kidney disease, which can prove fatal.
During the interview, Kate expressed her sympathy to Genieva, just two months following her mother’s passing, saying: “Oh, I’m so sorry about your mum. It’s so soon after that you must feel incredibly raw.”
Genieva responded: “We weren’t aware of the [gene] at all. It was just sudden. When I got diagnosed with the kidney failure when I was eleven, my mum was just shocked. But we did see signs of the kidney failure when I was about nine, ten years old.
“We only found out about this gene about two years ago… I never knew.”
Genieva discovered she carried the gene whilst participating in a research study at King’s College Hospital. She explained: “[The doctors] said they wanted to find out why I got kidney failure. They were doing this research. When they found out that I have this gene, they also tested my mum and she had it too.”
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Genieva Owens lost her mum to kidney failure two months ago(Image: ITV)
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She continued: “It’s got to the point for me that it’s at the end part. I’m waiting for a transplant now. I wish I knew and I wish my mum knew, that would have saved her life.”
“I’m so sorry… It’s so unlucky isn’t it,” Kate responded.
Whilst awaiting a kidney transplant, Genieva must undergo dialysis three times weekly, with each session lasting four hours. “If I don’t have it, I wouldn’t be here today,” she revealed.
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When asked why raising awareness of the gene matters to her, the guest said: “It would definitely help. They wouldn’t go through the horrible things I’ve had to go through, especially with my mum.”
Kate concluded: “Thank you so much for coming in and talking to us about this. We wish you well with the grief of losing your mum. It’s such an important message that you’ve got out to people today.”
