The family of a toddler named Archie is requesting prayers as he prepares for major surgery. Archie, who was born with a medical condition that necessitates a living kidney donor, is about to undergo a transplant.
Archie has been on dialysis since he was three days old because his kidneys cannot filter his blood. Archie, who was 17 months old, needed a living donor.
“After further testing, they determined that his right kidney didn’t exist and his left kidney had cysts all over it, so it wasn’t functioning,” said Archie’s mother, Francesca Siemer.
According to Doctor Charles Varnell of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the surgery requires “larger blood vessels” that would be found in adult kidneys, necessitating the use of an older donor.
Fortunately, Archie recently met his living donor at his second birthday party. Shannon is the wife of one of Archie’s extended family members.
“She reached out and said she was a match and she was going through all of the testing,” Francesca informed me. “So Archie is finally getting his kidney.”
Archie’s parents expressed their appreciation in an interview with Local 12.
“The smallest thing can affect someone’s life in the greatest way,” said Archie’s father, Austin Siemer.
Archie was scheduled to undergo the 8-hour-long operation before the end of May.
