April 19-24 is National Pediatric Transplant Week
Texas Border Business
MISSION, TX — April 20, 2020 — Born with a chronic liver disease called biliary atresia, the parents of baby Shantel Garza were faced with the uncertain notion that their daughter would live for very long, but thanks to an organ donor and a family that said “yes” to donation, Shantel is a 15-year-old high school student who dreams of helping others.
Before Shantel was born, the Garza family had already faced a major health scare with their son, Caleb, who was only expected to live a day. But with donated tissue, doctors were able to reconstruct his heart, providing the family their first introduction to organ and tissue donation.
“After that day, we all signed up as organ donors,” said Alicia Garza. “So when they told us about Shantel, we thought it was our turn to help another family.”
This week is National Pediatric Transplant Week. Approximately 2,000 children are on the national transplant waiting list, a list that grows every 10 minutes; around 25 percent of those children are under 5 years old.
Size is critical for pediatric transplants, meaning the most successful transplant for a child would be from a pediatric donor. To highlight the need and remember precious donors who have saved lives, National Pediatric Transplant Week is observed during National Donate Life Month in April.
According to Donate Life America, last year there were 917 pediatric donors. Annually, thousands of pediatric cornea and tissue donors help enhance lives. The need for organs on the pediatric waiting list is similar to adults with kidneys being the organ most in need for children. But patients under the age of 1 are often waiting for a heart or a liver.
After waiting for 10 months, a liver became available for Shantel. Since her life-saving transplant, Shantel has been able to grow and thrive. She’s even been afforded opportunities she and her family didn’t know were possible. Today, Shantel is a student at La Joya Early College High School where she sings in the choir and works toward her goal of becoming a transplant surgeon.
“I’m able to take college classes and I am able to take my career farther than I could have ever imaged,” Shantel said. “I sing in my church and I get to play sports. It’s all because of my donor family.”
Texans are encouraged to register at the Texas Department of Public Safety or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. For information on organ donation, community initiatives or to register online, visit TOSA1.org.
