Teen in Huron loses toxic kidney, needs new one

HURON — At this time last year, twin teen boys in Huron were awaiting transplants to replace their diseased kidneys. One of the boys, Cameron Meadows, got his transplant in August and is doing well. His brother, Jacob Meadows, had an operation last week to remove his diseased kidney, which was producing toxins, and still needs to find a kidney donor. The boys are now 16. The boys' mother, Beth Meadows, said Monday the June 30 operation at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland went well. It had been feared Jacob would have to start getting dialysis away from home, but he'll be able to keep getting it at home, Meadows said. Jacob is expected to remain at the hospital another few days, she said. His need for a kidney remains. Because of the condition of his antibodies, which would reject many donated kidneys, only a small number of potential donors, about 5 percent, would successfully be able to donate a kidney, Meadows said. A healthy adult can donate one of his/her two kidneys and do fine for the rest of his/her life with the other one, so kidneys often are obtained from living donors. Anyone willing to be considered for making a lifesaving donation can begin the process at University Hospital's kidney donation site, uh.donorscreen.org. "It starts with just a simple blood test," Meadows said. The blood sample can be drawn from anywhere, said Jillian Smith, one of the twins' sisters. About 30 people have been tested recently to help Jacob, but a match has yet to be found. Potential donors at the University Hospitals site who aren't a match are being asked if they would be willing to donate a kidney to someone else, in return for getting a kidney donated to Jacob. That increases Jacob's chances of finding a match, his mother said. Because of Jacob's medical problems, he is tired all of the time and sleeps often. He has to restrict his fluid intake and watch what he eats. "Right now, he just feels pretty bad all of the time," Meadows said. Cameron, meanwhile, has a great deal of energy and feels good after receiving his kidney transplant in August 2019. In fact, he has so much energy now that when he spent the night at Smith's house, he participated in a competition with other children to see how late he could stay up. Smith said she assumed he would be exhausted the next day, but he was ready to stay up late another night. "Cameron's doing great. He's doing really well," Beth said. Little information was released about Cameron's donor, who died and donated the kidney posthumously. Ohio residents are allowed to state on their driver's licenses if they are willing to donate an organ if they die. Cameron may need another transplant eventually. Transplants used to last for 10 years, but with improvements in medical care, they can be made to last for 20 years, Meadows said. Artificial kidneys are being developed, so at some point, transplants may no longer be necessary, she said.