CANADA: Alberta Children’s Hospital Family Urgently Seeks Living Kidney Donor For 8-Year-Old As Thousands Wait

Calgary Family Seeks Living kidney Donor To Save 8-Year-Old girl

WORLD NEWS – CANADA: An 8-year-old Calgary girl, Brianna Bodkin, is awaiting a life-changing kidney transplant after a June diagnosis of chronic kidney disease that has progressed to kidney failure. Alberta children’s Hospital is managing her condition with medication, but clinicians say a living donor could allow Brianna to move straight to transplantation and avoid prolonged dialysis.

Her parents, Jill and Rick Bodkin, learned they are genetic carriers and are not suitable donors. The family’s other daughter, Brooke, has early-stage kidney disease, increasing the urgency of a match outside the immediate family. Brianna is blood type O, and physicians say the paired donation program can link donors and recipients across blood types to create compatible transplant chains.

Around 2,900 Canadians are on the wait list for a kidney transplant, with the average wait for a deceased-donor kidney about three years and seven months. Medical teams emphasize that living-donor transplants often last longer than deceased-donor grafts, and follow-up studies suggest living donors tend to have strong long-term health outcomes, likely reflecting careful donor screening.

The Bodkins are asking the public to help spread the word about living donation for their daughter and others in need. Community support and timely donor identification could mean Brianna returns sooner to horseback riding, dancing and playing with her dogs — milestones her family hopes a successful transplantation will restore.

Video originally published on 2026-03-16 20:34:55