Snellville dad needs new kidney for second time
SNELLVILLE, Ga. - A Snellville man who received a kidney from his mother 15 years ago is in need of a life-saving organ donation again.
FOX 5 was there as 3-year-old Blakely Huffman, squealing in the light of the sun, begged her dad, 27-year-old Blake Huffman, to push her higher in the swing.
"I want high Dad, I want high!" she said.
Although Blake Huffman cherishes every moment he has with his daughter, he told us there are times that it's hard playing with Blakely because she is everywhere right now.
Huffman is in desperate need of a new kidney, but this is not the first time he has needed a transplant. When he was just 4-years-old, he was diagnosed with an E-Coli infection. That eventually lead to acute kidney failure. His mother Cindy Boatfield donated her own kidney to save her son.
"We were overwhelmed," Boatfield told FOX 5. "We were totally terrified because he was so little."
Thankfully, his transplant was successful. Although it lasted for 15 years, doctors say he needs a new one.
About a year ago, he started feeling sick. So sick that he needed to go to the hospital. That's when doctors found out that his transplant was failing. Since then, he's been going to dialysis three times a week for 4- hour sessions.
"It's hard. He doesn't complain," Boatfield said. "He handles it beautifully, and as a mother I wish I could just take the pain away from him!"
Blake's brother has agreed to donate his kidney, but he's not a match with Blake. So, they are participating in the Kidney Paired Donor Exchange Program at Emory. It gives patients an opportunity to receive a transplant from a loved one, despite "incompatible blood types!" So, his brother is donating a kidney, and will be paired with a recipient with the same blood type. When someone who matches Blake's blood type donates, he'll have his kidney.
It's been several months, so Blake's hoping he'll be matched soon.
For more information on how you can help the family click here. You can also call the Emory Transplant Department at 855-366-7989 (Please leave your name and let them know you're interested in helping Andrew Blake Huffman).