If you are reading this you can be Ashley's living donor and change Ashley's life. Ashley was born with a rare genetic disease, called alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. A genetic trait was passed on to her from both parents giving her the disease. This disease affected her liver, and at 10 months old,
Ashley needed a liver transplant. Although the liver transplant saved her life and continues to 29 years later, the medication that prevents her immune system from rejecting her liver, was toxic to the kidneys. At the age of 12, we found out that her kidneys were failing. When Ashley was 15, she was in end stage renal failure. I, her mother, was a match and donated one of my kidneys to her. This transplant lasted 10+ years. We knew that, unfortunately
a transplanted kidney had a shelf life. However, it gave her a childhood that was as normal as possible. Ashley now has been on dialysis for almost 4 years and though, we are grateful that this process keeps her alive, it is not always convenient. Ashley has been in and out of the hospital her entire life, but dialysis has been the hardest part of it all. Please consider donating a kidney. Dianne DeFoor
Ashley's mom
