Jayce Valencia is the son of Dezi Padilla. Born in 2015, Jayce was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease. The doctors at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, California, performed a life-saving kidney transplant on Sept. 8, 2017. But the transplant journey continues.

With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant families are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-related expenses. In Merced, volunteers are raising an estimated $50,000 for COTA in honor of local toddler Jayce.

Please consider making a contribution to COTA in honor of Jayce by clicking the “GIVE NOW” button on the right-hand side of the page.