Peoria Mom Donating Kidney To Sick Son

PEORIA, IL — A Peoria mother is making a selfless donation to her infant son, who was born with end-stage renal disease. JournalStar reported Katie Bell, 31, will donate her kidney to son Zeke when doctors say the 17-month-old blonde boy is big enough to undergo the procedure, although he's made it much farther than doctors originally said he would.

According to the news report, Bell was at the 20-week mark in her pregnancy with Zeke when she was told he would not survive. After her 20th-week sonogram, doctors told Bell and her husband Zeke's lungs wouldn't grow due to a urinary tract obstruction keeping him from passing urine, making his body swollen with fluid, JournalStar reported.

However, Zeke, the youngest of the Bell's three children, came into the world on Feb. 1, 2017 breathing on his own, as Journal Star reported his lungs were able to develop after his bladder ruptured and released the fluid.

Health officials report a new healthy kidney can do the work of two sick kidneys. Therefore, Bell — who is a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center — will donate one of hers.

The transplant will be done at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the Bells will need to stay in the city for weeks after Zeke's procedure, which is a relatively rare one, the JournalStar reports.

To help pay for Zeke's expensive medical care, the Bells have launched a fundraising campaign with help from their friends and Children's Organ Transplant Association. That includes the upcoming event, “Zooming for Zeke Family Fun Run/Walk,” on Aug. 4 in Donovan Park. Learn more at Team ZekeB on Facebook.

A fundraiser website has also been established for baby Zeke, raising more than $40,000 towards a $50,000 goal as of Wednesday.

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