ELKRIDGE, Md. — An Elkridge woman who has been defying the odds since birth is now facing her biggest challenge yet. Shaye Tillett, who was born with Turner syndrome and later developed polycystic kidney disease, is searching for a rare O negative kidney donor who could save her life.
WATCH: Elkridge woman seeks rare O negative kidney donor
"I am a miracle baby, I was born with Turner syndrome," Tillett said.
Turner syndrome is a genetic condition in females caused by a missing or partially missing X chromosome. According to the Turner Syndrome Foundation, only one to three percent of pregnancies with fetuses diagnosed with Turner syndrome result in a live birth.
Tillett wasn't diagnosed until after she was born.
"They had looked at her from a physical standpoint and what they saw was something they had seen before," said Yolanda Tillett, Shaye's mother.
Yolanda Tillett says she felt relief after the diagnosis once doctors said her daughter was going to live.
"To me, that was like, my baby is going to live, she is going to be okay. I was not worried at all, and it wasn't until I saw how much smaller she was," Yolanda Tillett said.
Not only did Shaye live, she is now in her 30s. But dealing with Turner syndrome has not been easy.
In addition to being smaller than her peers, as a young girl she did not develop at a normal rate. She was on hormones until she was 15 years old.
Then doctors put Tillett on birth control to help her develop as a woman. That is when things took a turn.
"I ended up finding out that I had polycystic kidney disease," Tillett said.
The kidney disease affects many of Tillett's family members, including her mother and grandfather. But the disease along with years of birth control have taken a toll.
"Having that in addition to taking birth control all together has affected my blood pressure," Tillett said.
Now, doctors say she needs a new kidney and want to avoid putting her on dialysis because she is still young. She is on several donor lists, but the journey has been long.
"I can't have someone donate who is a different blood type than me. They have to be O negative," Tillett said.
No matter how long it takes, Tillett and her family are not giving up hope in finding someone who will be a match.
"It's been a challenge finding one but as much as I can, I try to put the word out there as much as I can," Tillett said.
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