San Antonio NBC affiliate WOAI will begin airing a three part series tonight about reporter Kristina De Leon and her mother’s battle with kidney disease. De Leon (pictured left) donated one of her kidneys to her ailing mother (pictured right) and documented the process to shed some light on the procedure.
“The reason for documenting all of this is because I wanted people to know that donating a kidney isn’t as scary as you think,” De Leon said. “You don’t have to take medications for the rest of your life. You can drink alcohol afterwards. You can have children, run a marathon, and live a perfectly normal life, as long as you are reasonably healthy.”
De Leon, whose mother had been on kidney dialysis three times a week for 15 months before it was decided she needed a transplant, told TVSpy her mother is on the mend, “Mom is doing great! She’s no longer on dialysis, and at this point, goes to the (doctor) once a week to make sure her new kidney is functioning properly. We are so blessed everything worked out!”
Tonight’s story will cover her mother’s dialysis and need for the surgery. Thursday will cover the testing process and her mother’s indecision regarding the surgery. Friday the series will cover the day of surgery and the recovery.
Local viewers can watch the series on WOAI’s 5 p.m. news tonight through Friday.