Boy out of hospital after receiving kidney transplant
Matthew Castleberry, 3, is out of the hospital after receiving a kidney donated to him by his mom’s former coworker, a Palm Desert sheriff’s deputy.
Matthew and his mother will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House near Loma Linda for the next week or two. His family set up a Go Fund Me page to help pay for medical costs which his insurance doesn’t cover.
The Castleberry family has posted a donation page for 3-year-old Matthew Castleberry after he received a kidney transplant on August 1.
Watch our video as Matthew was waiting to receive his kidney transplant:
Matthew’s mother, Angelina Castleberry, says their insurance doesn’t cover all the medication and equipment he will need to go home with.
Matthew received the transplant from deputy Alicia Lopez who donated her kidney after doctors confirmed that they were a match. Deputy Alicia Lopez and former Deputy Angelina Castleberry met while working together at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.The successful surgery on August 1 marked the end of years of searching for a rare kidney match.
Read more about the successful kidney transplant
While still working, Angelina became pregnant with twins. At 17 weeks into her pregnancy, she learned that one of her twins, Matthew, had been diagnosed with Posterior Urethral Valves, which is the tube that drains urine from the bladder to the outside of the body for elimination.
This was causing his bladder to be full of urine and damaging both his bladder and kidneys. During the 23rd week, Matthew had little to almost no amniotic fluid and doctors advised Angelina and her husband Matthew Sr. that little Matthew was not going to survive.
After 2 unsuccessful procedures attempting to drain Matthew’s bladder, doctors did not believe any procedure would help because of the risk to his healthy twin sister.
Read more about Matthew’s long road to find transplant
After this successful surgery you can Donate to Matthew here
