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May 4, 2008 11:13 pm US/Central
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Once Again, Holding Out Hope For A Kidney
(WCCO)
Most people find comfort surrounded by family, but in one St. Paul home family is also a source of strength. There's one person in particular who has helped that family realize what's important in life: 8-year-old Sean Yang.
He may look like any other second grader until you realize how much work it's been for him to make it this far.
"I can remember him so little and pale, and yellow skin and not growing," said Yang's mother, Lee Yang. "It was scary. ... We're lucky to have him."
Sean Yang was born with abnormal kidneys. Within months, he suffered kidney failure. He needed a kidney transplant, but he parents were not a match and his siblings, too young to find out.
Luckily for the young boy, a match was found. He got his new kidney at just 19 months old.
"After the surgery, he was really doing well," said his mother.
Sean Yang was on his way to living life like a normal kid until he turned 4 years old, when doctors discovered that same kidney had likely caused him to develop cancer.
"It's common for the infection to take place, but for it to result in lymphoma is unusual. Unfortunately, that unusual event happened to Sean," said Dr. Clifford Kashtan, the boy's doctor.
The Epstein Barr virus that lay dormant in the transplanted kidney resurfaced, causing cancer. Sean Yang's parents were faced with an unimaginable decision -- should they treat him or let him go?
Unable to picture life without their youngest, the Yang family opted for chemotherapy. Two years of poison-pumping treatments and Sean Yang's family got the news they'd hoped for: their son was cancer-free.
"We thought that since he made it through all those that things would go well," said his mother, tears welling up in her eyes. "But then ..."
"When his immune system recovered its function, it attacked his kidney," Kashtan said.
Sean Yang's body began rejecting the same kidney that had caused his cancer, leaving him right back where he started.
"We went in Thursday and then they took his kidney out on Friday," remembered his mother.
For the last year and a half, the boy's progress has been measured in hospital visits. He goes to dialysis to do what his body cannot. Three times a week, four hours at a time, a machine cleans his blood. Someone from his family is always at his side.
"I think the strength comes directly from his family," said Kashtan.
Doctors say Sean Yang could stay on dialysis indefinitely, but for his family, finding another kidney seems to be the only answer to helping their son lead a normal life.
"We hope and we pray that somebody will hear our prayer for Sean. Someone will come and give him a kidney so he can have a normal life like other children," said Lee Yang.
The fact is that it's harder to find a match for a child like Sean Yang. In the Hmong culture, donating organs is not common practice.
"People who are not Christian they believe in reincarnation. So, if you give part of your body, you might be reborn again missing some part of your body," explained Lee Yang.
But the Sean Yang's family is hopeful Hmong families will see his story and offer to help. They know there's a reason the little boy has survived so much.
"We know that Sean has his own little purpose in the world and we're here to help him," said his mother.
How You Can Help
There are eight children currently waiting for kidneys at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview. The hospital is known nationally for pediatric transplantation. It has performed more successful kidney transplants than any other program in the world 487 since 1988.
Doctors say kids can receive adult kidneys. Once adult kidneys are transplanted into children they shrink to a size that fits and will grow as the child grows.
To learn more about donating a kidney click here.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)