Pomona mom praying for Christmas miracle kidney transplant

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Southern California family is hoping for a Christmas miracle, as a 46-year-old woman in desperate need of a kidney transplant continues to deteriorate.

Maria Celina Medina has been in and out of Pomona Valley Hospital recently.

"It's getting to the point where she's getting sicker and sicker and sicker," said her husband, Jesse Ceniceros. "It's getting to the point where she needs it soon."

Medina is on dialysis and has been on the transplant waiting list at UCLA Medical Center for the past 11 years.

"It's hard," she says. "It wears you down, little by little."

Jesse Ceniceros married Medina 11 years ago. He calls her superwoman - a great mom, always thinking of others.

He says she underwent a kidney transplant around 1999 but several years later, her body started rejecting it.

In November her other kidney had to be removed after a non-cancerous growth was found.

She's had trouble recovering. Her blood type is O-positive but she says someone who is also O-negative can try to donate.

"All I want for Christmas is for her to get better," said her daughter, Ariel Real.

If you, or someone you know, wants to help - you can contact the UCLA Living Donor Line at (866)672-5333.

You can also go online to the UCLA kidney donor site.