WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A young West Columbia woman needs a new kidney.
Bella Grace Wannamaker's family said they first discovered her kidney failure in October of 2022 when she was getting blood work done. They said her doctors still don't know the reason for it, even after extensive testing for autoimmune disorders, diabetes, blood pressure and genetic issues.
Her parents said her kidney is only functioning at 10 to 14%. They hope to find a living donor for their daughter.
"Showed that her kidneys were bilaterally scarred, both of them were scarred, and interstitially, the tubes inside were not; they were fibrosed," Connie said. "They weren't working properly either."
Mom said Bella hopes she can get a kidney transplant before needing to be on dialysis.
"Waiting on a transplant really isn't that bad for me, personally, because my levels are stable, which is really nice and I got really lucky to be able to say that and not be on dialysis right now," Bella said. "But it is still worrisome because getting a kidney before I would have to go on dialysis would be way better than after," Bella said.
"The thought was that I'd be willing to give a kidney up. In return, just to speed up the process, instead of the average wait of three to five years; then hopefully we'd get it in a year," John Wannamaker, Bella's dad, said.
John said he went through testing at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston to see if his kidney was a match, but he discovered cardiology issues, and doctors said his kidney was too old to be a match.
But the family said that it could still go to someone else and help speed up the match process for Bella Grace.
Bella's mom, Connie, said she is also preparing to test soon. The Wannamakers adopted Bella Grace.
The family said their insurance provider will cover all testing for people willing to see if they are a match for Bella.
They said Bella is on two kidney transplant lists while trying to get on a third. One is at Wellstar, formerly known as Augusta Health, at 706-721-3773. The other is at MUSC at 843-792-5097.
Bella's mom, Connie, said she's willing to answer any questions someone might have about this process at Tallgalcpa@yahoo.com. She said volunteers need to specify Bella Grace Wannamaker's name when they call the above numbers.
