Texas Toddler Battles Kidney Failure as Transplant Center Shuts Down Operations

Diagnosed with kidney failure at birth, a Texas toddler, Baer Sobieralski, still awaits a life-saving kidney transplant two years later. Baer's story first gained public attention in 2022 when his family hoped a new facility could offer him the necessary care and transplant.

Mallory Sobieralski, Baer's mother, shared her rollercoaster journey with CBS News Austin, "It's been both the best and hardest two years of my life."

The Dell Children’s Medical Center, which opened in April 2022 as Austin’s inaugural Pediatric Abdominal Transplant Center, was unable to secure a kidney for Baer before its temporary shutdown.

"It became very apparent quickly that he was probably not going to make it through childhood without dialysis and would absolutely need at least one to two kidney transplants in his lifetime," Mallory said.

Baer, born with end-stage kidney failure, urgently needs a kidney from a living donor. His family's hope dwindled when the medical center treating Baer announced its shutdown.

"When we got the phone call that the Dell Children's transplant center was going to be removing Baer from the list due to a temporary voluntary shutdown, it was hard," expressed Keith Sobieralski, Baer’s father.

The process of transferring to different waitlists consumed six months as Baer underwent repeat evaluations and testing in Houston. It wasn't until last month that he rejoined the transplant list.

"We had really expected that transplant to be able to happen by now. He's beyond that size and weight requirement and he's a suitable candidate. If we had a living donor ready to go we could go tomorrow," Keith voiced.

The family has publicly requested anyone willing to donate a kidney to step forward, emphasizing, "you would be literally saving our child's life." The ideal donor, according to the outlet, would be a petite individual with Type A blood.

Keith said, "So that we can watch our kid eat. Watch our kid walk and do things that you'd expect your 2-year-old child to do by now."

While Keith was a match for Baer, his kidney was deemed too large for the toddler’s body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 9,800 U.S. children and adolescents are battling ESRD or kidney failure, necessitating life-saving dialysis or a kidney transplant.

CBS News Austin relayed the hospital's statement: "Dell Children's Medical Center has temporarily placed the pediatric kidney transplant program on hold while actively recruiting new/additional staff in administrative and clinical positions. The voluntary inactivation became effective in December 2022 with an anticipated reopening in early 2024."

Updates on Baer’s quest for a match are available on KeepingItRenal.com. The story of his diagnosis is also featured on a GoFundMe fundraiser.