﻿A young man in $100,000 of debt due to kidney failure has hope for the future – thanks to his cousin, a famous rugby player.

Amanaki Taimi was only 19 years old when he found out his kidneys were failing.

He and his mother were forced to leave their home and family in Tonga, where dialysis is not available, and move to Auckland so he could undergo treatment.

As Taimi is not a New Zealand resident, dialysis costs about $6000 each month and the bills are racking up for his family.

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His cousin, Welsh international rugby player Taulupe Faletau, has started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to keep the treatment going.

He described the past three years as being "a very hard and sometimes helpless time" for Taimi and his mother.

"They have been separated from the rest of their family who are still in Tonga, trying to deal with mounting debt and worrying about the status of their application," Faletau said on the GoFundMe page.

"If Amanaki is deported to Tonga it would be less than a matter of weeks before his illness took his life."

Supplied Taimi is receiving dialysis treatment at Auckland Hospital.

International players who have donated include England prop Mako Vunipola, who grew up with the Wales back row in Pontypool, Welsh internationals Cory Hill and Hallam Amos, and Faletau's Bath teammates Anthony Watson and Charlie Ewels.

The family said its main goal was to have Taimi's visa application approved so his dialysis would be funded, giving the family time to focus on paying the debt.

If he was granted residency he would also be eligible to go on the list to receive a kidney transplant.

Supplied Taimi and his mother, Lia Taimi, had to leave their family behind in Tonga.

Taimi's visa application was currently on hold because of a few conditions that need to be fulfilled – including paying off his debt in one lump sum to show Immigration New Zealand he wouldn't be a "burden" on the country.

Only then could the application be re-lodged.

Dialysis was not available in Tonga as the cost of providing it would take 20 per cent of the country's healthcare budget.

KENT BLECHYNDEN/STUFF Dialysis machines are used to purify someone's blood if their kidneys can't perform their normal function (file photo).

Dr Gerhard Sundborn, a public health researcher at the University of Auckland, said if Taimi was deported he would not have a very good prognosis.

"Going back to Tonga would lead to death, those with renal failure need dialysis to live."

Sundborn said there were about 60 patients in Tonga with renal failure per year and type 2 diabetes was one of the most common causes.

JUSTGIVING Tongan rugby player Sione Vaiomounga became stranded in Romania after being diagnosed with kidney failure.

The Tongan government had been looking at establishing a dialysis centre, Sundborn said.

"The resourcing that would be needed to keep a centre like that going would be very difficult for Tonga."

New Zealand isn't the only country providing treatment for desperate Tongans. Rugby player Sione Vaiomounga became stranded in Romania three years ago after being diagnosed with kidney failure while playing for a local team.

Vaiomounga also faced death if deported to his home country.

Taimi's story has made international headlines, with BBC News covering the story.