Sheffield mum fears 'bad batch' Vitamin D drops destroyed son's only working kidney - now she wants answers

Kayan Khan is a non-verbal 12-year-old from Sheffield who was born with only one functioning kidney with only limited capacity.

Now, he is in stage five renal failure and desperately needs a transplant.

His family believe his condition deteriorated after he was prescribed a supplement, which was meant to boost his Vitamin D levels, but which has since been taken off shelves after being withdrawn on safety grounds.

During a routine check up in October 2024, doctors at Sheffield Children’s Hospital noted Kayan's Vitamin D levels were low and prescribed him a supplement.

As a result, his mum Alaina visited Saviour Pharmacy, on Talbot Road, and was dispensed a course of Aactive D3 2000iu/ml vitamin D supplements, produced by pharmaceutical company Trion Pharma.

The drops were later recalled over fears they were far stronger than they were meant to be.

But that was after Kayan had finished his entire course.

During tests carried out months later, doctors found the youngster's levels of Vitamin D were seven times what they were meant to be.

Now, Kayan’s mother and father, Alaina and Khawer Khan, are demanding answers.

They claim that despite Kayan's records showing that the youngster had been prescribed Vitamin D drops, no one attempted to contact them or warn them of the risk they potentially posed to their son if he had been prescribed the bad batch.

The pharmaceutical company which produced the drops, TriOn Pharma, says an investigation is underway, but claim it has not been confirmed that Kayan was given the recalled product.

Kayan has been in and out of hospitals his whole life after he was born with multicystic dysplastic kidneys, meaning only one of them works and at a very low level.

It has deteriorated so much recently he is desperate for a transplant.

Kayan's mum Alaina said: “I cannot express how it makes me feel - I’ve spent weeks where all I could do was cry.

“The bad batch would likely have caused damage even to someone with two healthy kidneys, and yet (I believe) it found its way to the one little boy who already had only one poorly kidney.

“He’s non-verbal and cannot even express himself - if it hurts, how he feels, I just do not know. He can’t even say ‘mum, I’m in pain’ and let me know what he is going through.

“It is magnitudes of bad luck - but it didn’t have to be this bad, if someone had acted when there was still time.”

Alaina said: “In December, I started noticing he was a lot more tired than normal - I think that must have been the first symptom.”

Then, in February 2025, Alaina says Kayan had some blood tests at Sheffield Children’s Hospital - and received a phone call an hour later saying he needed to be on a ward immediately.

Alaina said: “The renal nurse said he was severely dehydrated and his numbers were ‘quite bad.’ They’ve never said anything that serious before.”

Kayan would stay on the ward for over three weeks while awaiting test results from Manchester - where it was found his Vitamin D ‘levels’ were rated at 1,098. A normal amount is considered 150.

Kayan was diagnosed with hypercalcemia - a dangerous build up of calcium in the body - and Vitamin D toxicity. The barrage of treatments and medicines to bring his levels under control would take another seven weeks.

It was only in April when Alaina was quizzed by medics about his Vitamin D levels that the ‘bad batch’ came to light - and only from searching the internet herself and finding the urgent recall notice, which was was in the previous January.

Frustratingly, Alaina says her enquiries are going nowhere as all parties have asked to see the packaging from Kayan’s drops to confirm whether they were from the bad batch - but she threw it away months ago when her son completed the course.

Kayan is now home again but his one functioning kidney is damaged beyond repair.

Any cold or illness poses a serious risk to his health, and his mum says he is now “far more tired” than normal.

Alaina said: “His one poorly kidney has taken the whole of the impact.

“He hasn’t been activated on the transplant list, which I think is absurd. His prognosis might only be two years and the waiting list is three years - it makes me feel sick.

“His body is too fragile for dialysis, too. I feel his only hope is a kidney transplant.”

Alaina wants answers over why no one contacted her family after the recall to warn that Kayan may have been prescribed a potentially toxic medicine.

“The recall was issued in January - they (the manufacturer) could have contacted me, the pharmacist, the hospital, anyone - and any of them could have contacted me as well," she said.

“How do you not have a way to find patients who have taken potentially toxic medicine? How do you not have the quality control to know you have made something like this?”

Alaina and her family are now taking drastic measures to find Kayan a donor kidney.

Not only have Alaina and Kayan’s sister Zarah registered to see if they are a match, the family is tirelessly fundraising to get him a transplant though private healthcare, which costs £70,000.

They include a GoFundMe page that has so far raised £25,000, and a raffle to sell a family member’s passion project, a highly modified Ford Escort 1.6 Special Cabriolet they say is “one of a kind” with tens of thousands of pounds worth of upgrades, which has so far raised £2,950.

What do TriOn Pharma, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Saviour Pharmacy have to say?

The Star contacted TriOn Pharma, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Saviour Pharmacy to ask why Alaina and her family were not contacted to warn them about the bad batch of Vitamin D3 supplements.

A spokesperson for TriOn Pharma said:

“We express our sincere sympathies to the Khan family and fully understand their concern. We take all reports involving our products very seriously and are committed to ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety. As requested, please find below information.

“TriOn extends its sincere sympathies to the Khan family and fully understand the nature of their concerns. TriOn treats all such matters with the utmost care and follows a clear, evidence-based process to investigate any product-related issues.

“We first received correspondence from Ms. Khan on May 9, 2025, and promptly requested critical information required for an investigation into the concerns raised, including the product name, brand, batch number, and packaging details. Whilst some prescribing and supply chain information was provided, key product identifiers such as brand and batch details were not available.

“We continue to liaise with Ms. Khan in the hope of obtaining the necessary information to clarify the product’s identity.

“At present time, we are still working to establish if the product dispensed / administered was Aactive D3 and part of the affected batch. Our investigation in this regard continues, and we remain open and willing to review the matter thoroughly should any additional details emerge.

“TriOn took immediate and appropriate action upon initiating the company led recall of Aactive D3. On 31 December 2024, the first day of the recall, TriOn promptly notified the relevant regulatory authorities, that being the MHRA and FSA, in accordance with legal and regulatory obligations.The recall alert was officially published and disseminated by the authorities with the classification: “Food Supplement Recall Alert – Distribute to Retail / Wholesaler / Distributor / Pharmacy Level.” This alert clearly outlined the required actions for pharmacies and retailers, including:

• Segregating the recalled stock to prevent further sale or distribution
• Immediately stopping supply of the affected products
• Quarantining all remaining stock and returning it through the approved supplier process
• Notifying customers who had purchased the affected batches and advising them to return the product

“The recall information was widely communicated across the pharmacy and healthcare network through multiple channels, including the Community Pharmacy Network, wholesalers, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, MHRA notices to pharmacies, FSA’s official social media channel and various news publications.In summary, the recall fully complied with all regulatory protocols and TriOn executed all required recall communications promptly and comprehensively. We worked closely with the regulatory authorities and followed their guidance throughout the recall process to ensure appropriate awareness and response at all levels of the supply chain.

“If anyone has concerns regarding this issue, they can contact TriOn directly for more information at 02392 255770 or [email protected].

“TriOn continue to work with relevant regulatory authorities and follow their stipulated guidance for investigations. The relevant corrective and preventative actions have been submitted to the relevant regulatory authorities and measures have been implemented to prevent future recurrence.”

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust:

Dr Jeff Perring, Executive Medical Director at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As standard practice, we ask patients’ GPs to prescribe medication locally to make access easier for families when it’s not needed from the hospital.

“If we prescribe directly and a product is recalled, we follow strict procedures to inform affected patients and families promptly.”

Saviour Pharmacy, Talbot Road

Superintendent pharmacist Jasneet Gulati, of Saviour Pharmacy, in Talbot Road, Sheffield, said: “We are very sorry to hear about Kayan’s condition, and our thoughts are with him and his family at this extremely difficult time.

“We are aware of the precautionary product recall issued for TriOn Pharma’s Aactive D3 2000iu/ml vitamin D supplement, which was communicated to healthcare professionals via the MHRA on 8th January 2025. It is important to note that the recall only applied to specific batch numbers and expiry dates. Therefore, unless the exact batch dispensed is confirmed, there is no certainty that the product the patient received was affected by the recall.

“In this case, our records indicate the product was dispensed in November 2024, which predates the recall notice. Upon receipt of the alert, we acted promptly in accordance with MHRA guidance, reviewing our stock levels for affected brand and taking appropriate steps as per issued guidance . We even contacted the wholesalers to get history of batch numbers sent to us so we could inform the potentially affected patients.

“Just to reiterate we take all safety alerts extremely seriously and are cooperating fully with all relevant parties. We also continue to internally review our recall procedures to ensure we uphold the highest standards of patient care and communication.

“Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment further on individual cases. However, we remain committed to transparency and patient safety and will support any wider review into how such incidents are managed across the healthcare sector.”