"I hope to be an inspiration for people that are looking up to me and that find strength or comfort through what I am doing with my life," said Nadia Menjivar.
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Nadia has had heart complications since she was a baby, but her family says it came as a shock to find her heart condition was also causing problems for her kidneys. She was diagnosed with stage five chronic kidney disease in February 2021.
"Nadia had not been feeling well and we took her into the emergency in February and they discovered that she was having heart failure. They basically said, 'There is no repair for the kidneys. All we can do is get her into dialysis and look for a transplant,'" said Nadia's mother, Gisela Menjivar.
With her kidneys only functioning at 9%, the 20-year-old's daily routine consists of monitoring her heart rate and vitals. She regularly goes to UCLA Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente to get iron infusions and lab work done. Throughout all of this, Nadia said she remains optimistic. In her spare time, she sings and dances in her room, sells jewelry on Facebook and dreams of a future.
"I would like to leave a legacy for my family. And I would like to get married, have children and live a normal life," said Nadia Menjivar.
The kidney that Nadia needs must come from a type O positive blood donor between the ages of 25 to 55 years old.
"Please help me find a donor and if you can't be the type that I'm looking for, please share my story," said Nadia Menjivar.
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"We have a lot of good positive energy in our home and faith and we're just not going to stop until we find this kidney," said Gisela Menjivar.
Donors can see if they are a potential match for Nadia by visiting the website uclakidneydonor.org.
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