OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Eighteen-month-old Claire Stannard has spent her entire life tethered to a dialysis machine, but her family is hoping a living donor will step forward to give her a chance at a normal childhood.
Claire was born with no functioning kidneys and has been on dialysis since she was two weeks old.
Every night for the past year and a half, her parents connect her to a dialysis machine for 11 hours in what looks more like a hospital room than a typical toddler’s bedroom.
“We’re tethered to her room for about 11 hours every single night, give and take some time for setup, disconnection in the morning, buffer some time in case any alarms go off,” said Betsy Stannard, Claire’s mother.
Claire had her first surgery at just four days old. Since then, she has undergone multiple surgeries and spent four months in the NICU while requiring daily dialysis.
Despite the medical challenges, Claire is thriving as a typical toddler.
“She’s happy, fun, crazy. She wants to be a wild year-and-a-half-year-old. She’s silly,” Stannard said.
A kidney transplant would dramatically change Claire’s quality of life and give her family freedom they haven’t experienced.
“We would be able to travel with her after a transplant. In the mornings, we could just get up and go when we need to. We would have her have a better life,” Stannard said.
The family is seeking a living donor between ages 19 and 65 who is in relatively good health. Donors can live normally with one kidney, and the donation could give Claire a completely different life.
“It would change their life, it changes their family’s life, their friend’s life to be more normal for their age,” Stannard said.
People interested in being screened as a donor for Claire can visit Nebraska Medicine’s website for more information.
When applying, list the intended recipient as:
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