Katie Price’s mother Amy Price won’t accept a lung transplant from her daughter because she needs her to be the "figurehead of the family" when she is gone.
Last year, Amy, 64, was diagnosed with the irreversible lung condition idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which her mother Amy, 64, which is a progressive and life-limiting illness.
Once Katie, 40, found out her mother was sick she immediately offered to give up one of her lungs so she could beat the illness, however, Amy will not let her go through with the operation because she needs her daughter to be as healthy as possible so she can lead the family after her death.
In appearance on ‘Loose Women’ on Wednesday (06.06.18), she said: "I can’t take one of her lungs, it’s ridiculous. Say if I had taken her lung, I might not survive the operation for a start, it’d be a waste of a lung. She’s got her own family and her children, it’s important I think (for her to be healthy) because she’ll be like the figurehead of the family when I go."
Amy and Katie have always been very close and of her three children – who include the ex-glamour model’s half-brother Daniel and half-sister named Sophie – it is the TV star who has taken her diagnosis the worst.
Amy shared: "Katie is quite soft really, I think out of all of my children she has taken it the hardest. I think she’s accepted it now and we support each other really."
Revealing how Katie’s own kids – Harvey, 16, Junior, 12, Princess, 10, Jett, four, and Bunny, three – have reacted to the news, she added: "Harvey wouldn’t understand. But he’s doing really well. The others do but they, I would say like Junior and Princess understand, the other two are too young. I think they know but they just look at me thinking, ‘Well Nan’s still here, she looks well, what’s going to happen?’ I’ve wrote letters to them all. The one for Kate is going to be like this [thick]. It’ll say, ‘You must do this…’"
Amy may be able to go on a waiting list for a lung transplant but at the moment she has been told by NHS doctors that she is "too healthy" and is not a priority for a transplant, but their regular check -ups did reveal that she has a minor heart condition.
She said: "The NHS has been really great for me, I’ve been checked out and I’m too fit to have a lung transplant. What they’re going to do is check me everything three months and if I deteriorate then they’ll make a decision as to whether I go on the transplant list or not.
"The tests are so vigorous that they’ve found out that I’ve got a little blockage in my heart. they said, ‘Don’t worry about that, we’ll put a stint in and we’ll sort it out.’ It’s very matter of fact."