The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults like Jade who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

 

Jade is 17 years old and is getting ready to start her senior year in High School. Last year, in May 2017 (when she was 16), Jade was diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own tissues. It can affect the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels and can cause widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organs.

 

Initially, for the first 6 months after learning of her Lupus diagnosis, Jade was required to undergo a 6 month course of Cytoxan (a type of Chemo drug) treatment. The doctors were hoping that they could get Jade’s kidneys functioning again before turning to dialysis, so she tried outpatient treatments of infusions of all sorts in order to try and get the kidneys to heal.

Unfortunately, the treatments were unsuccessful. As a result, Jade is currently on kidney dialysis 3 times every week, for three hours each treatment. Her doctors have recommended that she receive a kidney transplant. She is now on the transplant list and they are hoping to identify a donor very soon. Once ready, her transplant will take place at Dornbecher Children’s Hospital (at Oregon Health and Sciences University) in Portland, Oregon.

 

Because Jade is on dialysis, she has not been able to take a full course of study in High School this past year. If she does not get a transplant this summer, it will likely affect her education this year and may delay her graduating with the rest of her class next year in June 2019.

 

The chemo treatments affected Jade and caused her hair to fall out. It grew back in curly, which she really does not like. She is often fatigued which either comes from the Lupus or from the fact that she needs to get up at 4:30 AM three days a week to get to her dialysis treatments.

 

Jade also has many dietary restrictions. She has a limit of daily intake for Phosphorus, Potassium, and Sodium. She also has a restriction of 40 ounces of liquid per day. Things that she cannot have because of those restrictions are: any kind of dairy, any beans, bananas, oranges, nectarines, melons, and dried fruit, vegetables (no night shade vegetables), chocolate, soup.

She currently has to take 12 medications daily and two others that are taken “as needed”.

Jade has two younger brothers and lives with her mom, Angie and her brothers, here in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Some of Jade’s interests are: Fan Fiction, Anime, Harry Potter, and Cosplay! Thanks to Make-A-Wish, Jade will be headed to New York City with her mom in October 2018 to attend the New York Comic Con !!

Please help us raise money for COTA in honor of Jade!!