Local girl receives new kidney from Make-A-Wish New Mexico president
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Make-A-Wish is known for granting one wish per qualified kid. But one local girl got a lot more than she planned for after her meeting with the charity.
Bella Pishyar took a life-changing trip to the hospital at 16.
“They told me that I was going to have to be on dialysis and that I had been diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis,” said Bella Pishyar, a Make-A-Wish recipient.
It’s an autoimmune disease that attacked the blood vessels in Bella’s kidneys.
“That had taken my kidneys pretty much right away,” said Pishyar.
At times, dialysis took 10 hours a day.
“Luckily, I could do it at night, but it was a lot to take care of,” Pishyar said.
At 17, she qualified for Make-A-Wish New Mexico but gave away her wish to a friend’s sister with the same condition. That impressed Make-A-Wish New Mexico President Sara Lister.
“Very quickly, you just realized how amazing she is and what a huge heart she has,” said Lister.
That young girl passed away before Make-A-Wish could help. But Bella matched with an organ donor and had a transplant in 2020.
“Unfortunately, it did reject pretty much right away. I had to be back into the hospital because of a fever that caught it,” said Pishyar.
Back to dialysis for four hours, three times a week. Then came her second dose of good news, Captain Rodney Hook. Make-A-Wish granted her wish for a goldendoodle in 2022.
“My mom, Sarah, all the Make-A-Wish people. His trainer was there, and he was just like, so happy to see me,” Pishyar said.
He became her companion even as Bella’s need for another new kidney became more urgent.
“I knew that her health was declining and that she was going to be in need of another transplant,” said Lister.
She took action.
“I had been praying about it, because I didn’t know a lot, but I felt like God was saying, you know, give this a try. And so I got tested,” Lister said.
She was not a match but kept going.
“I started about a six-month process of going through testing,” said Lister.
The National Kidney Registry’s Voucher Program means if you donate a kidney, a person you choose gets a living donor transplant.
“I understand it’s significant, but seeing our wish kids, they go through way more than what I was going to have to go through,” Lister said.
Lister’s donation put Bella higher on the list.
“I was just in so many emotions, and I was crying. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Sarah, you don’t have to do this, but thank you so much. And that was just amazing,’” said Pishyar.
By Jan. 6 Bella got her third dose of good news, Lister matched. Weeks later, Bella was at Arizona’s Mayo Clinic, ready for a new kidney.
The now 21 year old could barely contain her excitement.
“I’m excited to just do like, those simple things in life that I can’t do anymore, and that’s just going to help so much,” said Pishyar.