Andre Yarham: Britain's youngest dementia patient dies aged 24 - mum Sam pays tribute as she donates his brain to science
A man who was Britain’s youngest dementia patient has died at the age of just 24.
Andre Yarham, from Dereham in Norfolk, passed away on December 27, just two days after Christmas, in a hospice following an infection. The 24-year-old had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia a month before his 23rd birthday.
Andre’s mum Sam Fairbairn announced his death, paying tribute to her son. She said: "Andre was a cheeky lad with a great sense of humour. He had a heart of gold.
"There's not enough awareness of how cruel this disease can be. There are different types of dementia, different symptoms and different behaviours.
"We made the decision to donate Andre's brain to medical research. If in the future, if Andre has been able to help just one more family have a precious few more years with a loved one, that would mean the absolute world.”
Sam explained that Andre began to display symptoms in 2022, when he became forgetful and often had a blank look on his face when he was being spoken to. He also often completely ignored people as they were speaking to him, as if he hadn’t heard them speaking at all.
After Andre underwent an MRI scan in 2023, Sam was told that her son had the brain of a 70-year-old man and that he had early-onset dementia, becoming just 0.1% of the UK population to develop the diagnosis under the age of 65. His condition developed from a protein mutation.
Prior to this, Andre had held a job at Lotus Cars in Norwich, which he left after six months after he began to struggle with his memory and undertake his daily tasks. He was an avid wrestling fans and enjoyed playing rugby and football with his friends throughout school, growing a love of video games such as FIFA and Call of Duty.
Sam, 49, said: "Andre got his official diagnosis just before his 23rd birthday. In that time, his speech went totally. He was just making noises. The last six months was when we started to see a very rapid decline.
“He was moving less and less. Andre was struggling to feed himself, pick up a cup, becoming very unsteady. We had to make the hard decision to move him into a nursing home which he went into at the beginning of the September.
“He walked into his room which we'd all decorated for him. Within a month he was in a wheelchair and had to be hoisted.”
Sam added that Andre’s condition had been “very tough” on the family, which also includes Andre’s brother Tyler, 23, and her husband Alastair, 62. He was taken to hospital with an infection in December 2025 and moved back into Priscilla Bacon Lodge Hospice after three weeks.
She added: "If people do have concerns about loved ones and their memories, there are tests available and go to your GP. We want to thank everyone who has shown us love and support with Andre's journey."
If you have been affected by any of the topic raised in this story, you can contact charity Dementia UK for advice and support. You can phone the Dementia Helpline on 0800 888 6678. You can also email for support at [email protected].