"I completely lost my kidney function when I was 9 years old. My mom donated a kidney, but then I lost it in 2004. I've been on dialysis for 11 years," says 27-year-old Monserrat Hinojosa, who has focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a kidney disease that results in kidney failure. She remains hopeful. "I stay positive about it. I have great care, so I can’t complain. They spoil me at UCLA. I'm on peritoneal dialysis, just waiting for another kidney.” A match is difficult because Monserrat also has a rare blood type, “so I can only receive that certain blood type. Since it’s my second kidney, my antibodies are higher, which makes it more difficult to find a match. So it’s a rare kidney that I need, but it’s out there, I know it is."

Tags: blood type, dialysis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, kidney disease, Kidney Disease, kidney donation, kidney failure, kidney function, kidney transplant, live kidney donation, Nephrology, peritoneal dialysis, rare kidney, Surgery, Transplant