My Kidney Transplant Story: Yaredly Hernandez

My kidney transplant journey started when I was 12. I had several symptoms, including swollen legs and high blood pressure. I was treated with steroids, but it didn’t work—I was still getting worse.

My mother was my champion at first, searching for doctors and looking into what to do. My parents decided to fly from Puerto Rico to Miami and take me to a children’s hospital there. I was diagnosed with proliferative glomerulonephritis and started doing dialysis.

Everyone back in Puerto Rico was praying for us. Things got better, my kidney function improved, and I was able to get off dialysis. I went back home with steroids, and I had to keep taking blood pressure medication.

In early 2013, I started having symptoms again: my nose was bleeding, and I had high blood pressure. My parents brought me back to Miami for treatment, and I went back on dialysis. At first, I was in complete denial about having a kidney transplant. In my head, I was thinking that my kidneys were going to come back. I was at Stage 4 kidney failure at this point, and unfortunately, once you’re at that stage, your kidneys don’t usually come back.

I did dialysis for three and a half hours three times a week. I am so grateful for those nurses—they took care of me like a baby. I spent 10 months on dialysis. I tried to keep a good attitude. Something that is very prominent in my family is not only faith in God but also humor—we always try to make jokes and look at the bright side of things. I couldn’t work, so when I went to my dialysis appointments I would say I was going to my job. It was true in a way, because it was my job to stay alive.

In August, my mom posted something about me on Facebook and my cousin Kiara saw it. My mom suggested she come for a visit and Kiara said, OK sure. She was 20, always very driven and independent from a young age and loves to travel. She flew from Puerto Rico to Miami. We had a really good time, and when Monday came, she came with me to the dialysis center and saw firsthand everything that was going on with me.

That afternoon, we received a call that my two brothers who had been tested as potential donors were not compatible. I felt kind of relieved, because I did not want anyone in my family to donate to me. I was not very well educated about living donation and I didn’t want anyone to go through anything for me. I figured I would just stay on dialysis and wait for a deceased donor.

The next morning, Kiara told me she wanted to get tested. I asked if she was sure and she said yes. She was very certain, and almost casual about it. I didn’t know how to feel. That’s when I started taking living donation seriously. I started reading about it and learned that donating a kidney does not reduce the life expectancy of the donor, and that they can live very well with only one kidney. All those things appeased my heart, and that’s when I made peace with the idea of receiving a kidney from someone I love. I thought, if this is meant to be, I will accept it. A couple of weeks later she called to say she was a match. My mom and I burst into tears.

The transplant was scheduled for November 13, 2013. On Halloween, my doctor told me that they would have to take my kidneys out during the transplant, which they don’t always do. I got so mad because I was attached to my kidneys! But she said they were already dried up little raisins, and they weren’t doing anything for me except causing me to have high blood pressure.

Everything was a success with our surgeries. I am so thankful that they did the nephrectomy, because I haven’t had to take even one blood pressure medication. A couple weeks after her donation surgery, Kiara left for Spain for an internship. Now, she has built a career in marketing and runs her own agency. I am so proud of her.

Fast forward to 10 years after my transplant. I always wanted to have children, but I was scared how my body was going to react. I talked to my doctor, and she put me on baby-friendly medication.

We got pregnant in 2023. Everything went well. I made it to 40 weeks, and on Labor Day—September 3, 2024—my daughter was born. I call my new kidney the gift that keeps giving. Kiara’s kidney gave me the opportunity to have a child because otherwise I may not have been able to.

About the Author

Since her transplant, Yaredly has passionately promoted living kidney donation and kidney health. Every November 13, she celebrates her “kidneyversary” by visiting local dialysis clinics to give patients hope and bring a token of appreciation for the nurses. In 2024, she joined the National Kidney Registry as a donor search coach, expanding her efforts by helping individuals in need of a kidney transplant find living donors and connect with a community of kidney recipients and donors. Originally from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Yaredly enjoys sailing, paddleboarding, and spending time with her family. In September 2024, she and her husband welcomed a healthy baby girl—a beautiful reminder that living kidney donation is a gift that keeps on giving.