Braintree Family Reaches out for Kidney Match for Daughter's Transplant

Braintree Patch | Joseph Markman


Katelyn Colantonio, who is going into her freshmen year at Braintree High School, found out just months after her 19-year-old sister was diagnosed with cancer that she has kidney failure

This winter, just five months after Nicole Colantonio was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma, her sister Katelyn began to get sick, her ankles swelling so much that her parents brought her to the ER at Children's Hospital.

Katelyn was experiencing acute kidney failure, and must now receive dialysis three times a week for four hours. Her father Jimmy nearly became Katelyn's donor, but last month the family found out that he is not a close enough match, and now the Colantonios are spreading the word about kidney donation in the hopes of finding a suitable donor.

"We understand that this choice requires a lot of thought and consideration," the family writes on their blog. "It is a lot for anyone to give, but it is a gift that will be life changing for Katelyn. You will be saving the life of a daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend."

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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}