Bensalem 8 Year-Old Seeks Gift of Life in the form of Kidney Donor

Mothers often say they would do absolutely anything for one of their own children – including die if need be.

Kim Cruz, of Bensalem, is doing everything she can for her eight-year-old daughter  Aubriella who has been living since birth with a rare kidney and liver disease known as Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)/Congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF).

Approximately 1 in 25,000 children are born with ARPKD, a rare genetic disorder, which can be fatal right after birth. A child with ARPKD who survives the newborn period, such as Aubriella, has a good chance of thriving.

According to the PKD Foundation, approximately one-third of children diagnosed with the condition require dialysis or transplantation by the age of 10. In 2023 according to the National Institute of Health, approximately 800 children in the United States undergo kidney transplantation each year, representing about 5% of all kidney transplants performed nationally.

Aubriella lives with her blended family in Bensalem, including her mother, Kim Cruz, and her (step)father and (step)brother.  She looks like any other eight-year-old, playing with her brother, other children, and cheering, but she has many doctor and/or hospital visits, blood draws, and scans, unlike other eight-year-olds in her community.

After being diagnosed at birth with the disease, we were transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We spent the first month of her life there, Mom says.

The family is in a desperate search for a match now that her immediate kin have been ruled out due to health-related complicating factors, her treatment team says.

It has now come to the point where Aubriella needs a life-saving kidney transplant. Kim said, due to the size of her kidneys, we learned that they will need to be removed a month or so prior to transplant which complicates things. Having a directed living donor will allow her to be on dialysis for the least amount of time and would be the optimal situation for  transplant and subsequent recovery.

Credit: Kim Cruz

“One of the toughest things to ask someone is to consider giving a literal part of themselves but I will do it everyday to let our daughter have a long healthy life!” said Aubriella’s Mom.

“We are trying to share her story as much as possible in hopes that someone out there might be willing to donate” bringing the hope of holiday seasons to come, Kim says.

Firmly believing in prayers, thoughts, and sharing the story of what Aubriella’s genetics present her with, potential donors will be inclined to go through the screening process they go through when applying for organ donation.

As of November 20, 2024, Aubriella is on the national computer kidney transplant waiting list of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). As a result of the search for a living donor, she will begin to accumulate waiting time.  Previously, her kidney function was 23%, but recent blood tests showed her kidney function was about 16-17%, Mom told Lower Bucks Source.

Aubriella is still receiving treatment at CHOP; The transplant team there would perform her kidney transplant. University of Pennsylvania is responsible for the donor’s part.

While Aubriella has been seeing the same nephrologist since she was an infant , she will meet a new team of medical professionals  a whole separate process when she is referred for transplant.

She may need a liver transplant in the future. As of yet,  Aubriella has not experienced any liver complications which are commonly associated with CHF.

A few months ago, Aubriella and her family traveled to Children’s Cincinnati for a second opinion, but they recommended the same course of action.

A few months back Lower Bucks Source covered the medical/financial challenges facing the Uva family of from Levittown. Father Steve was in need of a liver transplant. The transplant surgery was successfully performed in October. Wife Anna told LBS the Cruz’s and Uva’s know each other because they are part of a small unique community – people waiting on the transplant list or had a transplant successfully completed.

Aubriella needs a gift; not one like you can order through Amazon Prime or Temu. That bright beaming girl needs a gift like no other. She needs the gift of life so whatever the little girl dreams are dancing in her head today can come to fruition with the possibility of tomorrow.

For information on screening to be a donor for Aubriella, you can click here to fill out a Kidney Transplant Living Donor Questionnaire and the living donor information page. There is a prompt on the donor screening form to put in the recipient’s full name and date of birth (dob). Anyone filling out the form can put “Aubriella or ASM” as the name and can either put “todays date” as the DOB or can check off the box that says “I don’t know the recipients DOB.”

Please reach out to CHOP directly for any questions at this number – e mail address Contact Info:
(215) 590-3913 or email CHOPKidneyTransplantTeam@chop.edu

You can also help by sharing and encourage others to share her Facebook Page – Kidney for Aubriella.

Lower Bucks Source encourages our readership to please share Aubriella’s story.  A simple share can actually save her life.