YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A York County teen who is need of a new kidney got the gift of a lifetime.
16-year-old Alex Kepner finally found an anonymous donor after waiting for more than a year. He was scheduled to have the transplant April 21st, but his mom said his doctors are no longer giving the green light at this time, due to a technicality.
Since we last saw Alex, little has changed. Except his kidney function level. It was at 18%. Now it's closer to 10%.
"I have a harder time processing things and thinking," Alex said. "Just because with my level of kidney function it..."
Alex's mom had to help him finish his though.
"It effects his cognitive function," his mom, Jennifer Fink, said.
"I was trying to think of that word," Alex said.
Alex found out on Valentine's day that an anonymous person was willing to donate their kidney. Jennifer said she understood the surgery had to be postponed for the pandemic, but she wasn't happy after learning the other reasons it was postponed.
Jennifer said she was told that a kidney transplant is considered an "elective" surgery because it is scheduled, and because a person can live on dialysis.
"When you think of elective surgery, I think of getting a nose job, or having a wart removed or something along those lines," Jennifer said. "Not a kidney transplant. The way they're treating it is a little upsetting. It's kind like we're being punished because we found a living donor, as opposed to waiting for a deceased donor which isn't planned."
In a statement from Penn State Health, where Alex gets treatment, it said:
"The health and well-being of our patients is our primary concern. In light of the evolving outbreak of COVID-19, Penn State Health leadership has worked around the clock, making extensive plans on how to best meet the needs of all our patients.
Suspending some surgeries and procedures is part of our extensive plans to respond to the COVID-19 issue, to protect the health system’s patients, physicians and staff. Decisions to reschedule procedures are not made lightly and the risks to patients are carefully considered by their care teams. For transplant patients in particular, the risks of contracting illness post-surgery is increased, as they are immunocompromised. Medications that suppress the immune system are absolutely necessary for kidney transplant recipients, or the transplanted organ will be rejected. The level of immunosuppression necessary in the first weeks and months after kidney transplant is quite high. During the time that the risk of infection from the pandemic is highest, we believe that it is the best interest of most of our patients to delay transplant and the associated immunosuppression until the risk of infection declines."
"I mean, I'm not a medical professional obviously," Jennifer said. "And I trust their decisions. I'm just concerned as a mother, obviously."
Jennifer is worried the clock is ticking. She doesn't want to reach the point where Alex needs dialysis because his veins collapse, making them difficult to find.
Alex's surgery has been postponed to June 2nd tentatively. Jennifer believes that date could be pushed back later.
You can expect more updates on this story, as we continue to follow it.