Jenna Franks

First post: Apr 7, 2006 Latest post: Jan 3, 2023
On July 26, 2017 Jenna received her kidney transplant via a voucher donor through the National Kidney Registry. 🙂 God bless living donors!
Jenna was diagnosed with kidney failure at 15 years old. She started dialysis in 2001. Patrice (our hero!) donated a kidney to her in 2007, but sadly Jenna has developed antibodies to the kidney and has been back on dialysis since 2012.. We would appreciate it if you could please share Jenna's story. She needs a type O donor (the + and - don't matter in organ transplants.) You never know where her miracle will come from. 
For more info about being tested to match Jenna please complete a LIVING DONOR INTAKE FORM http://transplants.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=59  (http://transplants.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=59 -)

More info at www.facebook.com/WantedKidneyDonor (http://www.facebook.com/WantedKidneyDonor
Our 27 year old daughter Jenna was diagnosed with kidney disease in the spring of 2001, at 15 years old. I remember holding her hand when the doctors told her the bad news. They said eventually she was going to lose those kidneys and there was nothing they could do about it. Her father and I were devastated. The damage was caused by a defective bladder, and had slowly occurred over time, with no apparent symptoms. She immediately began medications to control her blood pressure and to keep infections away.

Jenna was able to live without dialysis until her senior year of high school in 2003. She required emergency dialysis treatment that winter. She continues on dialysis to this day, and while it has sustained her life, it has also been very tough to endure. She must be treated three hours a day, three days a week. Her life quality remains poor due to fatigue caused by anemia. It is quite a challenge for a teenager to struggle with such demanding medical issues. 

People often ask how they can help. We hope someone will consider donating a kidney so she can get off dialysis. If you need to know more about the transplant process itself, we can email you information. Please contact us at the following email address: kidney4jenna@yahoo.com. The donor must be blood type O (positive or negative) - between the ages of 21 and 65 and in good health. Any other medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or any other medical problems could exclude someone from the donor process. Jenna's Transplant Coordinator will ask you some health questions to begin the evaluation process. He can also answer any questions you may have. Any communication or results with the transplant team is completely confidential.

Whether you are a living donor, potential donor, recipient, family member or friend, you'll find many different resources at Living Donors Online at http://www.livingdonorsonline.org/kidney/kidney.htm.

Please spread the word and pass this site on to your friends and family. Most importantly we appreciate your prayers and good wishes. Thank you from a grateful Mom. ~~ Karol Franks

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