For the past two weekends, local photographer Cassidy Hilliard of Hillside Photography held fall family photo sessions at Scanlon Creek in support of Bradford teen Daleyn MacIsaac, who is in need of a kidney transplant.
Daleyn was diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease, in summer 2019 that attacks both her lungs and kidneys.
For the past year, Daleyn has been in and out of Sick Kids Hospital for treatment, and has even had to stay overnight a few times due to severe complications with the disease.
She has Stage 5 Kidney Failure, and was told she would eventually need a kidney transplant.
The time has now come for her to now start looking for a donor. The MacIsaac family have been sharing their story on social media in hopes of finding a perfect match. Daleyn is eligible for a transplant as early as December 2020, however, there is a lot involved before a transplant can occur. There is one potential donor who is interested but they are still searching. Potential donors must meet a strict list of criteria, and go through a series of tests before being considered for the procedure.
"Sick Kids wants a back up (donor) too," said Daleyn's mother, Minerva, adding that the testing involved is quite rigorous.
In order to be a donor, the following criteria must be met:
- Must be 18-55 years of age
- Blood Type O
- A healthy weight for their height
- In good health without diabetes, cancer, kidney, heart disease and COVID-free
- Only people who are in excellent physical and mental health are qualified to donate
- Willing to freely donate
Hilliard, whose daughter is good friends with Daleyn wanted to do something to help the family and decided to host fall photo sessions with half the proceeds going to the family to help with associated treatment costs like medication and trips to the hospital.
At each session she handed out organ donation pins and pamphlets from the Be A Donor campaign, encouraging clients to sign organ donor cards and explore the options of living organ donation.
Over the past few weekends, she saw over 20 families and raised just over $1,300 for the MacIsaac family.
"They (the clients) thanked me over and over again for doing the charity sessions and for such a great cause," said Hilliard. "I had many conversations at the end of multiple sessions about people's experiences with organ donations, all positive stories."
"I hope that these sessions and handing out information pamphlets, ribbons, posters, etc..that even I can't help Daleyn find her perfect match that I can at least get people to sign up to be donors, living or deceased," said Hilliard. "One person can save up to eight people's lives if they just sign a card. It's simple and could possibly save a loved one's life."
Daleyn and her family were touched by the gesture and have been thankful for all the community's support throughout their difficult journey.
Anyone looking to donate financially to the family can do so on their Go Fund Me page here.
And anyone who may be interested in learning more about being a kidney donor for Daleyn can contact her Minerva by email at [email protected]
To learn more about being an organ donor visit the Be A Donor website here and the UHN's Living Donor Program here.
