SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Sarasota mother did what any mother would do to save her child, which includes even giving up a kidney.
According to a Saturday night report by SNN, Tristen Belangia had been battling kidney disease since he was 12 years old, but in 2021, his condition began to fail.
“I think it was hard for me to notice that I was starting to feel worse over time, just it being since I was 12,” Tristen said to SNN’s Sydney Roell.
Tristen was put on a waitlist, which could have left him waiting for years before he got his replacement.
However, after some tests, his mother, Kristina Belangia, was found to be an almost perfect match to donate her kidney to her son.
“With Tristen’s blood type, he’s O positive, and that actually has the longest wait time,” Kristina said. “So, it could’ve been five to six years that he was waiting for a kidney.”
Kristina and Tristen underwent the procedure almost a year ago, and now Tristen is doing much better.
“I have gained a lot of weight back,” he said.
For Kristina, it was not a hard decision to donate.
“I think that when you’re a parent, you don’t really think about it, you just do,” she said.
