Jacqueline Zuniga

Jacqueline Zuniga

Transplant Type - Kidney

Jacqueline Zuniga is awaiting a new lease on life. When she was just 6 years old, she was 9diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, and her kidneys had to be removed. At age 13, she received her first kidney transplant, but her new kidney began to reject two and a half years later. When she was 17, she received a second transplant, but it immediately rejected, and she went into cardiac and respiratory arrest twice. Now, doctors say a third kidney transplant is essential. While awaiting her transplant, she endures regular dialysis treatments, which take a toll on her quality of life.

Battling such devastating health issues her entire life has had quite an impact on Jacqueline and her family. It’s always been difficult for her parents to provide the treatment and care she needed while ensuring that her brothers were also cared for. Despite these immense challenges, they have always been there for her, and she’s thankful for the love and support of her family. To stay active, she enjoys biking short distances and swimming. She would love to take long walks, but she’s often fatigued or in pain. It breaks her heart that she has to miss out on family functions because of her health, and she dreams of being healthy enough to travel and spend more quality time with her nieces and nephew. More than anything, she simply wants to live a normal life—something she hasn’t known since age 6, but she needs your help.

Unfortunately, Jacqueline’s hope for a new life comes at a very high price.

The average kidney transplant costs approximately $442,000. And that’s only the beginning. Even with insurance, which will cover the cost of the transplant itself, she still faces significant expenses related to the surgery. For the rest of her life, she will need follow-up care and daily anti-rejection medications, which are as critical to her survival as the transplant itself. Jacqueline must travel nearly 300 miles to her transplant center for her evaluations and check-ups, incurring substantial expenses for each trip.

You can help by making a tax-deductible donation to NFT in honor of Jacqueline. If you'd prefer to send your gift by mail, please send it to the NFT Florida Transplant Fund,  3249 W. Sarazens Circle, Suite 100, Memphis, TN 38125. Please be sure to write "in honor of Jacqueline Zuniga" on the memo line.

Thank you for your generosity!Patient Health Institute: Cleveland Clinic, Florida