Allana Prescott,17, says she's happy she no longer has to undergo dialysis since she underwent a kidney transplant.
Accompanied by her mother Christine, Prescott, a student of St Madeleine Secondary School, said: "I had dialysis twice a week. I am thankful and happy. I am grateful to my big brother and to Republic." Prescott spoke at the Media Launch 2010 at Republic Bank Ltd, Conference Room, Park Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Expressing her delight, the teenager's mother added: "I am happy. She is no longer sick. She used to be so sick and tired." Among those who addressed the gathering on the success of the transplant and the need for donors was Anna Maria Garcia-Brooks, general manager, Group Marketing and Group Communications, Republic Bank Ltd.
Garcia-Brooks said the organisation had invested an initial $1 million into the Make A Difference Fund for Sick Children. Among those present were Tisha Lee, corporate communications manager, Group Marketing and Communications; Dr Lesley Roberts, medical doctor, National Organ Transplant Unit; and Andrew Ready, medical doctor and consultant renal transplant surgeon, Transplant Links.
Garcia-Brooks said: "We invited our staff and members of the public to join us in contributing to the fund. "I am happy to note their contributions totalled $292,466.10," she said. "Since its establishment last October, the fund has provided funding for the Transplant Link exchange, and through our other partner, Hope of A Miracle, three children received life-saving surgeries in the United States." Garcia-Brooks added that her organisation was also committed to providing funding to two people, one scheduled to leave the country next week, while the other was awaiting a confirmation date from a hospital in the US.
"It is impossible not to open your eyes to the needs where sick children are concerned," Garcia-Brooks said. Garcia-Brooks reiterated the bank's passion for the youth's health. "In the last year, the fund has also facilitated diabetic testing for over 70,000 primary and secondary school students in over 633 schools in T&T, through the partnership with the Helen Bhagwansingh, Diabetes Education Research and Prevention Institute," she said. Garcia-Brooks also issued an appeal for citizens to "open their minds to make live donations, specifically kidney donations." "Please don't take your organs to heaven...Heaven knows we need them here on Earth," she said. Ready, who also spoke, said without appropriate treatment the ailing children would have died this year. "They can go back into education and make a grab at the future they deserve. It's fantastic to get to the point where you can do children's operations," said Ready.