Utah, Feb. — Fifteen year old, Kayla Burns, is trying to remember what her normal life was like. She doesn’t go to a regular school anymore and misses the socialization, since her kidneys failed almost two years ago.

Kayla Burns is waiting for a kidney transplant.

“I like sleeping in, but I still have the same homework,” she said.

Kayla, like a dozen other teens, spend so much time at the University of Utah Hospital on dialysis machines that they can no longer attend a regular school or have what may be considered a regular life. In need of a kidney transplant, she is hoping that a donor will come along and change her life. While she doesn’t know when a donor will be available, Kayla and other young people can count on financial help from the Kurt Oscarson Children’s Organ Transplant Fund, which helps families with incidental expenses after a young person receives an organ transplant like medications and follow-up care. The fund receives approximately $80,000 donations a year through the charitable giving section on the Utah Tax Form.

Concerning her wait for a donor, Kayla said, “A lot of people need kidney transplants, so I’m probably not at the top of the list. I used to swim and loved drama class, but I have dialysis three times a week for three hours at the time. It just cuts into school too much, so I’m in the home/hospital school program.”

That kidney may come, if Good Samaritan in the community steps forward to donate one. Kayla has a few relatives who are being tested, but so far, no one has been a match.

Called Good Samaritan Living Donors, Utah has had 25 living donors come forward and donate a kidney to a stranger in the past three years. Over 1,000 people have inquired about the program, which can be found at the “Yes” Utah Donor Registry, www.yesutah.org or 866-YES-UTAH.

“We know those Good Samaritans are out there,” said Ben Dieterle, public relations specialist for Intermountain Donor Services, an organ recovery agency. “Our surveys have shown that 8 percent of Utahns are willing to be living donors. We just need to find them.”

The state of Utah offers its employees 30 days paid leave for becoming a living donor. In addition, Utah citizens can receive up to $10,000 in tax credits for becoming a living donor.