A Port Coquitlam woman whom the Tri-City News reported last May was in desperate need of a suitable kidney donation has passed away.
Adrienne Pace had been on the organ donor list since 2011 and made several appeals to the public to help her find a match.
But the effort was unsuccessful and last week, the 43-year-old could no longer undergo dialysis. J.P. Vachon, Pace's partner, told The Tri-City News Pace died last Friday.
In 1994, when she was 23 years old, Pace was diagnosed with renal failure and waited years for a transplant, which eventually took place in 2001. But after an abdominal bleed in 2011, she was put back on the transplant wait-list and had to undergo dialysis six times a week.
Adding to the situation was the fact that the veins in Pace's arms were no longer accessible for dialysis. She received the treatment through a tube in her neck.
"My case is urgent," she said in May. "Without an access for dialysis - if this access gives out - I could die without a kidney."
At the time, Pace urged everyone to add their names to the BC Transplant donation list. According to BC Transplant, 300 British Columbians are currently in need of an organ transplant and people can wait up to 43 months for a new kidney - and for other organs, the wait times are even longer.
People can verify their organ donor registration information at www.transplant.bc.ca or by calling 1-800-663-6189.
