Still waiting for kidney transplant surgery

The 9-year-old Yuma boy who desperately needs a kidney transplant still has not had the life-saving operation. According to the boy's father, Dagoberto Chavez, the surgery for his son, Alan, is postponed while the family determines if they can afford the medication to keep their son alive after the operation.

"Everything is good right now," Dagoberto Chavez said of his son's health. "Alan is in good health and he is not in danger."

A second-grader at Palmcroft Elementary School, Alan is in renal failure, which means his kidneys are malfunctioning.

Renal failure is the loss of the kidneys' ability to perform their main function: to eliminate excess fluid and waste material from the blood.

When kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of fluid and waste accumulate in the body.

Alan's kidneys have not filtered properly since he was a baby. He must undergo dialysis three times a day, including a treatment given at school.

The surgery, originally scheduled to be performed June 30, was to take place at the Hospital Los Angeles in Torreon, Mexico. That has changed recently.

Chavez said the operation will now take place at either the Phoenix Children's Hospital in Phoenix or a hospital in Tijuana.

The Sun contacted Phoenix Children's Hospital and spoke with pediatric renal and transplant social worker Sandra Coorough, who could not confirm whether Alan was under the care of the hospital due to federal privacy laws.

Chavez said the main reason for delaying the surgery is that the family cannot afford the anti-rejection medication that Alan will have to take and is trying to get it at the lowest cost it can.

"Our insurance only covers the cost of dialysis," Dagoberto Chavez said. "It does not cover the cost of the medication. It is expensive for the family."

He went on to say the medication, which Alan will have to take for the rest of his life so that his body doesn't reject the kidney, costs about $600 to $700 a month.

Chavez explained that if the family doesn't have the money for the medication, there is no point in having the surgery because his son will die without it.

He added that they are looking into alternate insurance that will cover the medication or possibly buying it in Mexico, which their doctor said was an option.

Another reason the surgery hasn't happened yet, according to Chavez, is that his cousin, who is donating the kidney, needs to make arrangements at his job to get enough time off work and to firm up plans with his family.

"Everything is still going to plan. He is still donating his kidney, he only needs some time." Chavez said. "If it was up to me, we would do it right away, but I have to wait till he tells me when."

Several months ago, Chavez asked the community for help since the family could not afford to pay the hospital costs for the transplant operation.

And help is exactly what Yuma County residents did, donating slightly more than $47,500 during a four-month period.

Chavez wants the people of Yuma County to know how grateful he is for the money they donated and that it hasn't been spent yet.

"The community needs to have patience.," Chavez said. "The money has not been touched. It's still in the account, ready to be used when the operation does happen."

According to Geoffrey Dewhurst, director of the Yuma Safe Schools Healthy Students program at Yuma Elementary School District 1, which has been active in Alan's case since February, they have been told by doctors that the transplant is not a cure for Alan's condition, it's only a treatment.

The Sun attempted to contact Julie Stevens of the Yuma Community Church, which set up the account for Alan, about the donations, but was unable to reach her.