Mother overcomes the odds to save her daughter's life with kidney transplant
When a baby is born they are half mom and half dad, but in the case of Brittany Chow, she's got a little more mom in her.
Born as a chunky baby, the 33-year-old excelled in school, becoming a pediatrician at Loma Linda University Health, but last September she started experiencing extreme fatigue. After a trip to the emergency room, test results revealed her kidneys were funding at only 10%.
Doctors told Chow that medicine would not work and the only thing that would save her would be a transplant.
Dr. Michael De Vera said Southern California has one of the longest transplant waiting lists in the country. Since Chow had only recently received her diagnosis, she was nowhere near the top of the list.
"Most patients on the waiting list, would wait for years to get a kidney," De Vera said.
Chow's family and friends immediately volunteered to be her donor, but no one was a perfect match. Her mother Elizabeth Chow was a close match, but doctors told her she had to lose a significant amount of weight and eat healthy to become a perfect match. Elizabeth didn't hesitate to do whatever it took to save her daughter.
"I would die for my children," said Elizabeth Chow. "If she needed two kidneys, I would give her two kidneys. If I have to be on dialysis for the rest of my life, that's fine. It just doesn't matter."
For the next few months, while Chow was on dialysis, her mother exercised like never before, losing more than 20 pounds before going under the knife. In late March, her kidney was placed inside her daughter. It was a success.
"The kidney she gave me was so healthy, that within two days, my levels were normal," said Chow.
The two women are recovering well and are almost back to 100%. This Mother's Day, Chow is extra thankful to the woman, who gave life to her not once, but twice.
"Mom gave birth to me, and literally saved my life again," said Chow. "If mom couldn't give me a kidney, I'd be on dialysis for 10-12 years, and I couldn't work anymore. That would be it — my life would be over."
