Dylan had already undergone more than a year of dialysis, a filtering process that removed waste and extra fluids from his blood. Each dialysis treatment took almost four hours, three days every week, which interfered with school. And he missed certain foods he couldn’t eat.

Dialysis was necessary but wasn’t easy. That’s why Dylan decided to pursue a transplant at the recommendation of Cook Children’s nephrologist Randa Razzouk, M.D., M.S., a specialist in kidneys and high blood pressure. In February 2026 he was placed on a national waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor.

He didn’t wait long. On March 17, 2026, the Cook Children’s Kidney Transplant Program called to say an available kidney was a good match. Later that night Dylan underwent surgery at Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth to receive the new kidney and a new lease on life.

“I feel very good. I can swim, I can eat, I can actually walk fully,” he said. ”Before, I was too weak and too tired. Now I feel energized.”

Dylan named his new kidney “Clover” in the spirit of the transplant occurring on St. Patrick’s Day. Another fun fact? Dylan was the 250^th patient to receive a kidney transplant at Cook Children’s since the program started in 1993.

The kidney transplant team at Cook Children’s involves pediatric surgeons, urologists, nephrologists, infectious disease doctors, pharmacists, therapists, social workers, child life specialists, dietitians and other experts in treating the unique needs of children and teens. Intensive follow-up helps ensure that the transplanted kidney functions properly. Here’s what to know.

Experience and Excellence

Most people have two kidneys, the organ that produces urine. The kidney performs other roles too, helping manage blood pressure and making red blood cells.

“It actually does a lot of different things,” said Robert Gillespie, M.D. MPH, medical director of kidney transplantation at Cook Children’s. “It filters out the blood and removes all the metabolic waste products, sort of like the exhaust from your car. It gets rid of any extra fluid and extra water you don’t need. All that goes out in the urine.”

A child born with abnormalities of the urinary tract might need a kidney transplant, he said. Another factor could be autoimmune disease that leads to scarring of the kidney.

Cook Children’s aims to provide a transplant before advanced renal failure occurs, Dr. Gillespie said. But sometimes renal failure develops too quickly. Once renal failure sets in, the patient will need dialysis at home overnight every night or at a dialysis center three days a week.

“There’s a lot of disruption to their lifestyle, which is especially difficult in childhood when you’re trying to attend school regularly,” he said. “The goal is always to do a preemptive transplant before they need dialysis.”

Julie Rudd, renal transplant coordinator, started working at Cook Children’s in 1992. Julie has met or helped care for all 250 patients who received kidney transplants over the years. She sees a dramatic change in energy level, appetite, cognitive ability and how much better they feel overall.

The Cook Children’s Kidney Transplant Program draws patients from across Texas and nearby states. Ages range from 2-18 years.

Steps in the process include:

• Run extensive tests to ensure potential donor kidneys are compatible with the patient's body.

• Determine if a suitable living donor is available (often a parent). If not, the patient can be placed on a list for a deceased donor’s kidney.

• Perform the transplant, which connects blood vessels from the new kidney to the patient’s vein and artery. The ureter, a tube that carries urine, connects to the patient’s bladder.

• Give instructions for taking the medications, called immunosuppressants, needed to help the body accept the new kidney.

• Follow up with frequent appointments to monitor the kidney’s function and watch for signs of rejection.

Cook Children’s also helps patients when the time comes to make the transition to adult care for their transplanted kidney.

The program benefits from a comprehensive approach and continuity of care provided by the same specialists before and after transplant. Hitting the 250 mark is an accomplishment, along with the track record of transplant success dating back to 1993.

“Cook Children’s stands out for the volume and length of time we’ve been doing it,” Dr. Gillespie said. “You want a program that does a good number of transplants to develop and maintain that expertise.”

Beyond Dialysis

One day at school in 2022, Dylan complained of a headache and dizziness. The school nurse took his blood pressure – it was alarmingly high – and Dylan was rushed to the Emergency Department at Cook Children’s Medical Center. Tests found protein and blood in his urine and inflammation of his kidneys. A kidney biopsy showed scarring.

Dylan had previously been diagnosed with Henoch-Schonlein purpura, a disease that causes small blood vessels to swell and leak. Dr. Razzouk diagnosed a related condition called IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease that causes IgA proteins to get trapped in the kidneys, damaging their blood-filtering vessels.

Under Dr. Razzouk’s care, Dylan received medication to lower blood pressure, diuretics to reduce swelling, and steroids to treat inflammation. Dialysis began in 2024 after a particularly severe episode of high blood pressure on vacation landed him in intensive care at a Houston hospital.

Back home to Fort Worth, Dylan came the Cook Children’s Dialysis Unit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He couldn’t eat potatoes, bananas, chocolate and foods high in sodium because of dialysis restrictions. He’d get out of breath just by walking. His kidneys weren’t going to heal.

On several occasions Dr. Razzouk talked to Dylan about pursuing a transplant. He was a good candidate, Dr. Razzouk believed, because he was medically stable and had strong family support. Dylan also understood the long-term responsibility of taking the medication that a transplanted kidney requires.

Trulaina Banks said the decision was entirely up to her son. She’d support him whether he chose to remain on dialysis or seek a transplant. Dylan thought it over and came to the conclusion that dialysis had his life on hold, Trulaina said. He was ready to move forward with transplant.

After extensive evaluation, Dylan’s name went on the wait list for a kidney. A match came up through the donor registry, and Cook Children’s transplant surgeon Tariq Khan, M.D. put the kidney in place. Dylan still has his original kidneys, plus a C-shaped scar at the site of the incision.

Dr. Razzouk said Dylan has no more restrictions on diet or fluid intake. His blood pressure is healthier. Quality of life has improved. For Dylan’s transplant and the 249 transplants that came before it, she gives credit to the collaboration and communication of the entire transplant team.

“We provide excellent care,” she said. “We provide compassionate care.”

Trulaina advised parents to learn the facts, be honest with their child, and support them as partners in the transplant process.

“It’s going to be a tough road, but as long as you keep your faith, we’re going to get there together to where this road is smooth,” she said. “Believe in your team. Dr. Razzouk’s eye will always be on Dylan to make sure he’s good.”

Dylan sets an alarm to remember to take his daily medications. He doesn’t know the name of his donor. But he’s very grateful and wants to do what he can to keep the kidney working. He would urge any teens on dialysis to consider if a transplant might be right for them.

“Your story isn’t over,” he said. “Don’t give up.”

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What is lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where a person’s immune system (the system that helps fight infections) attacks its own healthy cells by mistake. It can affect different organs of the body, including, but not limited to the skin, joints, heart, kidneys, and lungs. It usually occurs without warning and affects each person differently. Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact cause of the disease, but we know the immune system is involved; genetics, hormones, and the environment also likely play a part.

What are the signs and symptoms of lupus?

Its symptoms can mimic those of other diseases, which is why it’s known as “the great mimicker.” The intensity of symptoms varies and can come and go over time, but the most common include:

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Headaches
• Hair Loss
• Joint pain, stiffness and swelling
• Butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose
• Abnormal blood clotting
• Anemia
• Pain in chest or deep breathing
• Sun or light-sensitivity
• Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods

Who develops lupus?

Anyone from newborn babies to older individuals can develop lupus. It is most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45 and is more common among African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans.

Lupus is also more common in women.

How is lupus diagnosed?

There is no single test that can diagnose lupus.

Because lupus can present with vague symptoms and mimic other illnesses, it can sometimes take years to make a diagnosis. Medical history, symptoms, and various tests can help make the diagnosis. Instead, diagnosis is based on criteria that includes clinical findings and laboratory tests. Helpful tests look for autoantibodies (antibodies that attack a person's healthy cells) that are often found in the blood of lupus patients. As the kidneys are often affected by lupus, a kidney biopsy is also useful.

How does lupus affect the kidneys?

When the immune system attacks the kidneys, it leads to inflammation of the kidneys. This stops the kidneys from working properly to remove waste and toxins from the body. Patients may not have any symptoms but may notice darker, bloody urine or swelling in different parts of the body. An abnormal urine or blood test may be the only sign of disease. Because the kidneys are so important to overall health, lupus patients with kidney involvement generally need strong drug treatment to help prevent permanent damage. If permanent damage does occur, dialysis and kidney transplant are needed.

How is lupus treated?

There is no cure for lupus, but there are various treatment options to manage it. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, antimalarials, and immunosuppressants are commonly used. As lupus affects patients differently, treatment varies between patients. One patient may also have to change medications several times during their lifetime as the disease evolves and changes. For patients with kidney involvement, blood pressure medications and stronger immunosuppressants may be needed.

For more information on lupus, visit:

https://kidshealth.org/CookChildrens/en/parents/lupus.html 

http://www.lupus.org/

http://www.lupusawarenessmonth.org/

https://www.lupusresearch.org/

Count your many blessings. See what God has done!"

- Johnson Oatman Jr.

I grew up knowing every word to the song, “Count Your Many Blessings,” but never truly appreciated the powerful message until this past summer.

Our daughter, Eliza, got sick June 19, 2015. It seemed like a typical stomach bug. But by the next day, we knew something was wrong. She was hospitalized at Lakeside Covenant in Lubbock, Texas a couple days later.

It was there that we received her diagnosis, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, or HUS, caused by E coli. They arranged for us to be immediately flown to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Three letters: H.U.S – that would change our lives forever.

Eliza’s kidneys began shutting down; she was exhibiting signs of neurological disturbances as well. We couldn’t believe our healthy child was going downhill so quickly. She was transferred to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit), where we would spend the next 26 days.

The staff in the PICU started Eliza on dialysis right away. As a mother, it was my worst nightmare, to see my child unresponsive, lying on a bed with multiple machines keeping her alive.

Eliza wasn’t following the normal progression of HUS. She began having seizures, her kidneys still refused to work, she continued to have gastrointestinal bleeding, and was showing signs of extreme pain.

By this point, she had gone through several blood transfusions, plasma exchanges, dialysis around the clock, numerous MRIs, CAT scans, EEGs, and EKGs. She had a whole team of doctors and they were all stumped. We were constantly told that she wasn’t their typical HUS patient.

Thankfully, Eliza’s nephrologist, Dr. Jennifer Willis, kept researching and questioning Eliza’s unusual symptoms. This would eventually save Eliza’s life. She suspected Eliza not only had HUS, caused by E coli, but also atypical HUS, a genetic disease.

She approached my husband and I about running a genetic test on Eliza to confirm the atypical HUS diagnosis, but the results would take up to 8 weeks. In the meantime, she wanted to try a medication called Soliris. She warned us that it was very expensive and she was not sure if insurance would cover it.

We continued to pray, we asked for prayers, and decided it was worth the risk. We just wanted our Eliza back! This was the first moment I truly realized we might lose our precious baby. We had been so hopeful and optimistic the entire time, but my hope was gone. I pleaded with God to be with Eliza and her medical team and save her life.

He answered my prayers and the prayers of many who were praying all over the world for her. Dr. Willis was right, after two doses of the medication, we began to see dramatic improvement. Eliza woke up, began talking, and progressed more and more every day.

Fifty days after exhibiting her initial symptoms, we were released from Cook Children’s. During Eliza’s summer at Cook Children’s we became friends with all the employees. We knew the PICU nurses, the receptionists and Eliza’s specialists.

Cook Children’s became our home. Eliza now looks, sounds, moves, and plays like a normal 2 year old. The syndrome, atypical HUS, has long-term side effects on some of her organs.

Currently, Eliza’s kidneys function at 60 percent. She is on multiple medications for both seizures and high blood pressure. The atypical HUS diagnosis was correct, as genetic tests eventually confirmed. Eliza receives a Soliris infusion every other week. Our sweet girl is a model patient. She jumps on the scale, stands to get measured, picks an arm for the blood pressure cuff, and watches while her port is accessed.

We owe so much to all the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at Cook Children’s, as well as family, community, and the countless people praying for Eliza.

Is it a normal life? No, but it is her life and we thank God every day.

“Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”