ITV's Good Morning Britain turned emotional on Thursday as presenter Kate Garraway offered comfort to a grieving guest who recently lost her mother to a genetic condition.
A raw and emotional interview
During the 18 December broadcast, Garraway and co-host Richard Madeley spoke with Genieva Owens, whose mother tragically died from kidney failure just two months earlier. The discussion centred on a crucial health campaign urging Black communities to get tested for a specific gene.
"Oh, I'm so sorry about your mum. It's so soon after that you must feel incredibly raw," Garraway told Owens at the start of the segment, offering immediate sympathy for her loss.
The hidden genetic risk: APOL1
The interview highlighted urgent calls for people of Caribbean or African descent to be screened for the APOL1 gene. This gene, carried by an estimated one in ten people within these communities, significantly increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease, which can prove fatal.
Owens revealed her own diagnosis of kidney failure at just eleven years old, and that her family was completely unaware of the genetic link. "We weren't aware of the [gene] at all. It was just sudden," she explained. "We only found out about this gene about two years ago... I never knew."
She discovered she carried the gene during a research study at King's College Hospital. Doctors, investigating the cause of her own kidney failure, tested her mother as well and found she also had the APOL1 gene.
A plea to raise awareness and save lives
Now at end-stage kidney failure herself, Owens is waiting for a transplant and undergoes dialysis three times a week for four hours each session. "If I don't have it, I wouldn't be here today," she admitted.
Her motivation for speaking out is stark. "It would definitely help. They wouldn't go through the horrible things I've had to go through, especially with my mum," Owens said, emphasising that earlier knowledge could have been life-saving. "I wish I knew and I wish my mum knew, that would have saved her life."
Kate Garraway concluded the powerful interview by thanking Owens for her bravery. "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."
The programme, which also featured weather presenter Alex Beresford and headlines from Ranvir Singh, airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX from 6am. More information on kidney disease is available on the NHS website.
