Hispanic Toddler Receives Life-Saving Transplant: National Minority Donor

August 1st is National Minority Donor Awareness Day - a day the Baza Family of San Antonio, Texas, will be celebrating with great zeal. If a suitable donor match had not become available for Baby Zach, it is very likely this miracle child would not be toddling around their home today.

Zach Baza arrived in the world with much fanfare. The baby boy was born to Jesse and Carmelita, who were already raising four beautiful daughters. They were ecstatic at having a son, but within days joy turned to anxiety when they realized Zach had serious medical problems. While less than 24-hours-old, Zach had his first surgery where 12 blockages were discovered in his small intestine. Thirty days later the same surgery was performed to remove more blockages. Several months later Zach was still not able to keep any food down or have it go through his intestines. Zach became critically ill and by the middle of March 2008, Jesse and Carmelita were told the baby was in liver failure; they should begin making funeral arrangements.

Right before signing a 'do not resuscitate' order for Zach, Jesse and Carmelita talked to a surgeon who said there was one last call they could make ... to the transplant team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. They made the call and four days later Jesse, Carmelita and Baby Zach were on a plane to Omaha. By the end of that week Zach was listed for transplant, and on his six-month birthday (April 14, 2008), Zach received a small bowel, pancreas and liver transplant.

While Jesse and Carmelita were relieved, at the same time, they were frightened about the mounting costs they were facing. They were encouraged to contact the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to ask for guidance. They did and with COTA's assistance, the community of San Antonio rallied to help raise funds in honor of Zach.

"We had already been through the transplant surgery when we learned about COTA. We were facing mounting medical bills and our baby was struggling after a very serious surgery. We didn't know where we were going to go to get the money for our monthly COBRA payments when Carmelita's job was eliminated. It was COTA that gave us hope and helped us find a way," said Jesse.

"COTA provided us with a website to keep all of our friends, family members and supporters informed of Zach's condition while we were in Omaha," said Carmelita. "COTA also got community volunteers excited about fundraising. COTA is such a big part of the miracle we have experienced."

Zach's COTA website (www.COTAforZachB.com) contains the following message from little Zach himself, "God is so good and is watching over me and my family. I know everything will work out the way it is supposed to. For now, please keep praying and let's see what God does today."

The Children's Organ Transplant Association is a national charity that provides fundraising assistance to transplant families. COTA's priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds. 100% of all funds raised in honor of transplant patients are used for transplant-related expenses.

You can read more about this family's transplant journey at www.cotaforzachb.com.

For more information about COTA or to find a COTA family in your area, please email kim@cota.org.