Help Abigail receive life saving kidney treatment

Abigail is a 23-year old girl living in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Three years ago Abigail was diagnosed with kidney disease and has since spent everyday fighting this disease.

Abigail now needs three weekly dialysis sessions to keep healthy and alive but due to financial constraints, she has only been having two per week which puts her organs under immense strain. The cost of EACH session equates to £63 which is equivalent to a month and a half’s wages for her mother. As of last week, Abigail’s family finances and donations from friends has been completely exhausted. The family have given up everything and they are now in desperate need of emergency funding. We are therefore making this appeal to raise funds in her fight for survival.

Abigail’s Story

Abigail was born into a family of 5 children. Abandoned by her father, the family were forced to move into a single room sharing one bed with no washing or kitchen facilities. When Abigail got ill, her brothers then had to move to live with their aunt so that her mother could assist with her medical needs. They eventually lost their business, sold all their possessions and were made homeless as all money went to her treatment.

Through working with the charity, Porridge and Pens, Lia met Abigail and became aware of her situation. The charity assisted in supporting Abigail’s sister with University studies and set her mother up with a business so that she could raise much needed funds and found her a home so she didn’t have to sleep in a church whilst so desperately unwell.

The treatment

As Abigail’s condition deteriorated, the need for dialysis has become more urgent and she needs three sessions per week in order to survive. Unable to afford these, she has currently been receiving just two sessions and as of June 2023, the money has simply run out. The journey to the hospital is at least an hour so her mother’s business has had to close frequently in order for her to make the journey and more recently, the dialysis machine at the local hospital has broken and she is now having to travel even further.

In the UK, this treatment would be available on the NHS, but no such support exists within Ghana. Without dialysis, Abigail’s kidneys would cease to function within one week, leading to organ failure and ultimately end of life.

Can you help? We are asking for any donations to assist in this appeal.

Any funds raised will go to support Abigail with treatment and equipment to keep her alive.

If we are able to exceed our target we would love to use the excess for a fund for medical equipment to provide subsidised treatment for other people in similar situations in Ghana.

Thank you