There were many times when Leila Soria’s parents, Jennifer and Jason Soria, didn’t think she was going to make it.
They knew after an ultrasound at 26 weeks that Jennifer Soria didn’t have any amniotic fluid, which is common in babies that don’t have kidneys that develop properly.
“Our journey to kidney transplant started before she was ever born,” Jennifer Soria said during an event Wednesday morning recognizing National Donate Life Month. “Unlike a lot of people, kidney transplant was always something that gave us great hope.”
It was thought that Leila’s lungs might not be developed enough for her to live when she was born at 34 weeks. There were months of dialysis, breathing tubes and a respiratory virus to contend with after her birth. But Soria said she and her husband’s plan was to fight as long as Leila did. Leila still is fighting.
“It was truly a dream and a burden of love to get to our transplant date,” she said. “Nebraska Medicine has one of the best teams and transplant programs in the nation. We have had the best nephrologists, and our surgeons have been wonderful.”
Leila was started on dialysis shortly after she was born. She was in the NICU for the first six months of her life. “Leila was born with kidney failure,” said Veronica Taylor, MD, Leila’s nephrologist. “That’s a condition that up until recently was considered to be fatal for neonates. However, Leila has overcome tremendous odds through the hard work and collaboration of multiple medical teams.”
Dr. Taylor said Leila’a parents are to be commended for helping their daughter in this fight. “Through her years on dialysis, her family never gave up hope,” Dr. Taylor said. “Six months ago, Leila received the generous gift of a living donor kidney transplant.”
Other members of the transplant team said one of the reasons Nebraska Medicine’s program is so successful (a record number of transplants were performed here in 2024) is because of the generosity of the people living in this part of the country.
“Nothing else is like transplantation in health care today,” said transplant surgeon Alan Langnas, DO, “It’s only through this community and people working together and having a spirit of giving is all of this even possible.”
Transplant surgeon Arika Hoffman, MD, echoed Dr. Langnas’ sentiments.
“You have the opportunity to help not just the person that you’re donating to,” Dr. Hoffman said. “If you enter into a kidney chain or kidney exchange, you have the opportunity to help multiple people in a short amount of time.”
“I am so pleased with how Leila has been doing,” Soria said, moments before she, Jason and her daughter helped hoist the Nebraska Medicine and Donate Life flags. “It’s never easy and there’s always new challenges we have having a medically complex kid, but she is a warrior, and God has great plans for Leila. We are just thankful for the entire team here at Nebraska Medicine that came alongside us and has gotten us to this point and I know will continue to serve her well.”
The Department of Pediatrics is so proud of the role that our pediatric nephrologists play in the transplant program. Thank you to all of them, including Dr. Taylor and Dr. Muff-Luett noted in this article about Leila.
Beautiful, touching story. Awesome that Leila and family were able to help hoist the flag. Thanks for sharing their story.
Just Wow ! What a brilliant teamwork for saving this little girl’s life .May she have a Beautiful life ahead .