San Diego

12-Year-Old Alpine Girl Having Both Kidneys Removed, Needs Donor

Kassidy would need a kidney donor who has A Positive blood type or O Blood type

A 12-year-old girl in Alpine will have both her kidneys removed Thursday due to a rare disease, and her family is asking the community to come together to find her a donor.

"That kidney is gonna save her and she's going to get back to her regular life," said her mother, Dawn Tiglio-Thomas.

Kassidy Thomas was diagnosed five years ago with a rare form of kidney disease.

"It's altered our life and it's altered hers tremendously," Tiglio-Thomas said. "There's a lot of things she can't do. She can't go to tumbling anymore at gymnastics."

The disease has progressed enough to cause failure of both kidneys.

Kassidy heads into surgery Thursday at Rady Children's Hospital, her mother told NBC 7.

After the surgery, she will spend up to 11 hours every night hooked up to a machine receiving dialysis. A strict diet will include no more than 17 ounces of water daily, Tiglio-Thomas said.

But Kassidy still needs a kidney donor.

"I know it's amazing, and we think about it every day and I think about this potential donor and I think about the donors coming up," Tiglio-Thomas said. "I'm not kidding you, people are coming out of the wood work...it's people we don't know."

Tiglio-Thomas said she wishes she could give her kidney to her daughter but both she and her husband are over the age limit.

Kassidy would need a kidney donor who has A Positive blood type or O Blood type. 

Her family told NBC 7, their insurance will pay for all the testing and even surgery, if possible. 

NBC 7 reached out to the Kidney Transplant Team at Rady Children's Hospital and was told Kassidy is one of 30 children in San Diego County who are in need of a kidney donor.

Contact Us