You're missing a key point. No one genetically engineered those kids to have kidney failure because they thought it made them look cuter or they were indifferent to the consequences of genetic engineering.
Holy necro, batman! 2018 seems like forever ago now.
Anyway, I was agreeing with you; Nobody wants to see kids with chronic illnesses, that's why in real life we hide them in segregated parts of the hospital so they can be ignored when they are not being exploited to make preachy ads seeking donations.
That said, while not as "clean" as genetic engineering, in real life there
are kids who are maimed by their parents to make them more pitiful; It makes them more effective when begging money from tourists. A former co-worker who lived in India told me about this.