Mother suffering from stage five kidney failure desperate to find matching donor

MIRAMAR, Fla. – A South Florida mother is making a desperate plea to the public after being diagnosed with stage five kidney failure.

Attempts to find a donor for the past four years have failed and now she’s hoping someone out there will be the life saver she’s been waiting for.

Mayte Sampedro must be hooked up to a dialysis machine close to eight hours every night.

ā€œEvery night if I don’t do it, I don’t wake up the next day,ā€ she said.

She is required to do the daily dialysis after being diagnosed with stage five kidney failure.

The 44-year-old mother of three was born with polycystic kidney disease.

Sampedro has been in and out of the hospital, but things recently took a horrible turn.

ā€œWhen they got me to the hospital, I was in kidney failure -- I literally flatlined and passed away,ā€ she said.

Last summer, she went into cardiac arrest and flatlined in front of her daughter.

Now she is in the fight for her life and desperate to find a kidney donor.

ā€œA kidney would be like winning the lottery,ā€ Sampedro said.

For her, a new kidney would be her greatest blessing. She has been on a donor list for a few years, but has yet to find her match.

Without a new kidney, she cannot live a normal healthy life.

Sampedro has started telling her story on social media, hoping someone, somewhere will have the courage to get tested and may be her match.

ā€œJust one, just one, just need one kidney,ā€ she said. ā€œJust one.ā€

A GoFundMe page was created to help Sampedro and her family, and it can be found by clicking here.

If you want to see if you’re a match to donate a kidney to Sampedro, call 954-265-7450.


About the Author
Bridgette Matter headshot

Bridgette Matter joined the Local 10 News team as a reporter in July 2021. Before moving to South Florida, she began her career in South Bend, Indiana and spent six years in Jacksonville as a reporter and weekend anchor.