Taking Action: Corcoran toddler needs double transplant urgently

CORCORAN, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Central Valley family is pleading for someone to take action to help them save their 2-year-old son's life.

The toddler was diagnosed with a rare disease a day after he was born, and now he needs a double transplant urgently.

Zyaire Jimenez usually looks and acts a lot like any 2-year-old, but a close look at his stomach hints at the trouble inside his body.

He was born with autosomal polycystic kidney disease, a rare disorder where cysts develop on the kidneys and sometimes spread to other organs.

Zyaire's are also on his liver.

Doctors told his mother not to Google the disease, but she did and it terrified her.

"There wasn't much information because it's so rare, but everything I read was 'nobody lives long'," said Rosalyn Jimenez.

Because of the disease, Zyaire learned to talk late, but he learned.

He also learned to walk late.

"He has a lot of developmental delays because of him being so heavy, but he doesn't let that hold him back," Rosalyn Jimenez said. "He's fun. He's loving. And he's smart."

The fun-loving kid from Corcoran made it through a COVID infection without any symptoms.

But when he caught RSV this month, it knocked him down.

His parents had to take him to Stanford for specialized treatment.

He can't breathe on his own and he's sedated for the time being.

"His lungs are having a hard time recovering," his mother told Action News. "He has a ventilator and when he's awake he's trying to fight against it. he can't take whole breaths by himself."

Rosalyn Jimenez says she can't even talk to Zyaire much because when he hears her, he starts moving and his blood pressure climbs.

She says doctors believe a double transplant of a kidney and a liver could give him a near-normal life.

His parents aren't a match, so he's climbing the donor list, but people with type-B blood like Zyaire's are typically harder to match.

"Hopefully there's somebody out there willing and able to," Rosalyn Jimenez said. "All he needs is a piece of liver from an adult."

Doctors will only do the transplant when they can do both at the same time.

They're hoping people will reach out to Zyaire's medical team at Stanford at (650)736-6168