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LaJuana Somefun

UPDATE, July 2010:  After more than eight years on the transplant waiting list and nearly ten years on dialysis, LaJuana received the gift of a kidney transplant from a generous donor!  Her transplant means a life free from dialysis and the opportunity to return to work and to travel with her daughter. 

Her amazing donor is a woman named Mary Alexander, who learned about LaJuana’s need for a transplant following a news story about her in February 2010 and selflessly decided to help.  Mary and LaJuana’s children attend the same school.  Both women are doing well following transplant and are now connected through this generous gift of life.

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There are more than 2,500 days in the span of seven years. That’s a long time to wait for anything, let alone the organ transplant that will transform your life. And that’s exactly what LaJuana has been waiting for – the gift of a kidney transplant from a generous stranger.

After being diagnosed with Lupus, a chronic disease that affects the immune system, her kidneys began to fail. Three weekly dialysis treatments keep LaJuana’s health stable while she waits for her transplant.

A single mom who loves to go to church, laugh, visit with friends and volunteer, LaJuana is looking forward to the freedom that comes with receiving the transplant she needs. “I want to be able to go back to work full-time and spend more time with my family and friends.”

LaJuana also hopes that she and her thirteen year-old daughter, Jackie, can take a trip once she receives her transplant. “Every kid wants to go to Disney World. My dream is to be able to take Jackie there without being too tired to have fun and without having to stop our trip so I can go to dialysis. When I get my kidney transplant, we’re going to Disney World.”

More donors would mean more transplants for people like LaJuana. When asked why she thinks there aren’t more people registered as donors, LaJuana replies, “Sometimes a cause really has to hit home for a person to take notice. If you were in need, would you want someone to help you?”