HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman in need received a kidney donation from an unlikely place: her identical twin sister.
Jennefer Acosta, a transplant recipient, said that her life has been a challenge since childhood.
“I was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and with that came the complications of my kidneys,” she said.
Jessenia Acosta, her twin sister who flew in from California to donate her kidney, shared her perspective on her sister’s medical issues.
“Growing up, she’s always had a lot of medical issues,” said Jessenia.
At the age of four, doctors told Jennefer’s parents that only half her kidneys worked, and that she would eventually need a kidney transplant.
“I would get checked, and then it just kept declining at every doctor’s appointment,” Jennefer said.
Eventually, the day that they both anticipated arrived.
“Her kidneys were not functioning really well based on our underlying diagnoses and lifelong issues, and so she was really in need of a transplant,” said Dr. Linda Chen, chief kidney transplant surgeon at Memorial Transplant Institute.
Chen said the surgery was considered a special case because the donor and receiver were identical twins.
“Because we have identical twin transplants, which is very special because it means they come from the same egg that split in utero, and it means they have the same genetic code,” she said. “The recipient doesn’t need to take immunosuppression.”
The transplant was a success thanks to the surgeons at Memorial Regional Hospital.
Jessenia said that she never hesitated to do the transplant, and that she was happy to do it.
“I think until now that I’m seeing my sister bounce back and just get life again, I feel really happy I can help with that,” she said.
Thanks to her, Jennefer is feeling better and full of life and love for the person that gave her a second chance at life.
“Knowing that I have my sister’s kidney is very unique to me because it’s something special that I wouldn’t think I would ever have,” said Jennefer.
The doctors said that Jennefer’s kidneys were not removed, since the transplant was in a different place in the pelvis.
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