Anaya Kandola is 20 months old, lives in Newcastle. Born 5 weeks premature and diagnosed with ARPKD (Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease ) just a couple of days before she arrived and her only and best chance of survival is a kidney transplant.
ARPKD caused Anaya to be born with an abnormal liver and two enlarged polycystic kidneys which led to her lungs being underdeveloped and her left side of her heart to be muscular known as HCM due to high blood pressure. Her immune system is so weak and her kidneys were removed soon after birth. She was put on dialysis which means she is dependent on a machine to clean her bloods. She requires 10-12 hours of dialysis every day and sometimes it’s so difficult to dialyse her when her blood pressure drops below 20 (hypotensive). Her only and best chance of survival is a kidney transplant.
Doctors have now started talking about ‘working up’ to transplant for Anaya which takes 4 to 6 months so we’re hoping by her 2nd birthday she will get a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, her parents are no longer a kidney donor match due to the number of blood transfusions she has needed and antibodies created. Waiting to get the call for a kidney match can take years and sadly, we may never receive that call to hospital for her transplant and she will die due to a shortage of Asian people willing to donate their organs.
Although kidney donation can come from any race, however for successful transplant Blood and tissue type need to match.
The criteria for donating a kidney for Anaya;
• Has to be from Blood Group B or O (doesn’t matter about positives and negatives)
• Minimum age for Donor should be 30 and max 40 years above Anaya’s age (which will be 42 at the time)
• BMI 30 or below
• Generally fit and healthy with no current health conditions (i.e high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV)
• You cannot donate if you have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or Cancer that has spread in the last 12 months.
• It is advised not to donate if you’re wanting to start a family as can cause problems during pregnancy.
Save a life like Anaya’s, by becoming an organ donor!
