The daughter of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Sonia, on Monday begged members of the public for anyone willing to donate kidney to her.
This is coming months after her parent’s alleged case of organ harvesting in the United Kingdom was made public. She made this plea in a statement released via a post on her instagram page.
In the statement, Sonia said, she dropped out of her postgraduate studies at the University of Newcastle in 2019, after she was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) nephrotic syndrome, a rare kidney disease.
She described her battle with kidney disease as “challenging”, adding that the charges faced by her parents in court had complicated the current situation.
The statement read, “I, Sonia Ekweremadu, hereby appeal to the general public to come to my aid and save my life.
“I am 25 years old and a graduate of Media and Communications, University of Coventry. I dropped out of my post graduate studies at the University of Newcastle in 2019 when I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, FSGS Nephrotic Syndrome.
“I am presently in London, UK, receiving five hours of dialysis three to four times a week. This is at the expense of my family as I am not qualified for NHS due to my immigration status.
She also said that she would not have made the public appeal, as members of her family, were eager and willing to donate a kidney, but her doctors advised against it.
“This appeal would have been utterly unnecessary as every member of my family is eager to donate their kidney to me, knowing that I would do the same for any of them.
“Regrettably, comprehensive medical examination showed that my case of nephrotic syndrome is a genetic illness and the doctors advised against donation from any of my family members, as it would likely reoccur. In the time that my father has been incarcerated, he has been diagnosed with acute kidney damage.
She, therefore, appealed for a kidney donation from any member of the public willing to do so.
“Anybody that is moved by this appeal and wishes to donate his or her kidney to me may send an email to helpsonialive@gmail.com and include his or her name, phone number, email address and place of residence,” she wrote.
“Please note that under the laws of England, organ donation must be purely driven by compassion and therefore no reward is involved.
“Finally, I have decided to commit and dedicate myself to helping people with the challenge of kidney disease, upon my full recovery.”
Meanwhile, in July, a post had gone viral of a lady who identified herself as Martha Uche that said she would be interested in donating a kidney to Sonia. It appears the offer didn’t sail through.
Ekweremadu and his wife have been standing trial in the United Kingdom of alleged conspiracy to conduct organ harvesting on one David Nwamini from Ebonyi State who claimed he was under aged and was tricked into the clinical procedure.
The court in July however, discovered that the alleged victim was not underaged as he claimed.
Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested in June at Heathrow Airport, London and arraigned before a UK Magistrate’s Court.
Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, was granted bail on July 22, bail by a criminal court in London, but the senator remained in detention. At the last trial in August, the case was adjourned till October for pre-trial.