Marella Van Gulick

Let’s help Mel!

Family and friends of Marella(Mel) Van Gulick are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with her transplantation. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical related expenses.

Mel has Polycystic Kidney disease which causes clusters of cysts to develop on her kidneys making her current kidney function between 15 and 17%. There are 5 stages in this hereditary disease and she is at stage 4 teetering on stage 5. Once her kidney function drops below 15% she will need to start dialysis treatments.

As we continue to search for a living donor for Mel we ask those of you that are not comfortable or not able to donate a kidney to please consider a financial donation in preparation for the many lifetime expenses associated with her kidney transplant.

Once Mel has received a kidney donation she will need to temporarily relocate to Portland to be near the transplant center during recovery, incurring substantial expenses for travel, food, and lodging. There will also be many follow up appointments driving to Portland. Although insurance covers a portion of her medical expenses there is still a large portion of expenses uncovered such as the anti-rejection medications she will have to take for the rest of her life which are very expensive and are just as necessary to her survival as the transplant itself.

Interested in becoming a living kidney donor? Please apply here: https://mmc.donorscreen.org/register/now

Please share this fundraiser with your friends and family and know that we truly appreciate your continued support!