Tis the season of giving and finding the perfect gift – of warmth, kindness, unselfishness and gestures that show those in our lives that we love them and what they mean to us. We spend a lot of the holiday season searching for the perfect presents, wrapping, and sending out cards. Yet, for all the shopping we do, there is one gift that has more meaning than anything we could purchase and that is the gift of life.

Leesburg resident April Braun is searching for her Christmas miracle this year. April, wife of Mike Braun and mother of 16-year-old daughter Callie, is battling stage 4 kidney disease and her need for a living kidney donation is described as urgent. Many friends and family members have been tested to help April, however so far none have matched.

Tampa General Hospital, where April is registered, encourages anyone to test because even if they are not a direct match, they can do what is referred to as a paired donor exchange. A paired donor is someone who is not a good match for the person they are being tested for, but instead they could agree to donate to a different, matching recipient and this would allow April to receive a live kidney donation from someone as well.

April’s battle with kidney disease started when she was pregnant with her daughter 16 years ago and she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and preeclampsia.

“A kidney would give me the chance to be here for the moments that mean everything to me, to watch my daughter Callie graduate high school, go to college and someday have a family of her own; to grow old with my husband and share the life we’ve always dreamed of together; to keep making memories with my friends and to continue enjoying life’s special moments,” April says.

According to Donate Life America, there are more than 100,000 thousand Americans on the national transplant waiting list, and of those 90% are waiting on a kidney. Kidney transplants are one type of organ donation that can be done by what is called a living donor. The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) shows that there are more than 6,500 living organ donations done annually in the United States and these involve donating to a close friend or family member or donating anonymously to someone on the transplant list.

“Not knowing what tomorrow holds is frightening, but a transplant would give me the precious time I’m praying for, and I am profoundly grateful to anyone willing to consider donating because that is a gift that means the world to us,” April says.

For anyone wanting to help, they can visit tampagenerallivingdonation.org.