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I just reached my first year on dialysis last week and after months of follow up appointments, the docs have determined that my heart blockages are inoperable and that I am in a race for time to get off dialysis due to the impact of the treatment on my heart. So, the transplant center has been prodding me to find a live donor sooner than later.
With the help of a really nice lady in my social network, we have been spreading the word online via GoFundMe, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The lady started a letter writing campaign to churches within a 200 mile radius, news outlets, and politicians. I can now say that all the legwork can prove to be beneficial. My GoFundMe campaign is tapped, out, but more importantly, the local newspaper did a story on me and it made the front page in print.
http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendal...818-story.html
Thanks to all the online and newspaper attention, 7 potential live donors came forward to my transplant center for testing. Unfortunately, the first 5 were disqualified to be donors due to health issues, but the simple fact that they went through the testing means more to me than the results. The kicker about these folks? None of them are related to me, and 3 of them I have never met in person yet.
It's important to get out there and tell everyone you meet about your situation. I even had shirts made with a cartoon graphic of me on it asking for a kidney donor. I also had bumper stickers made that I hand out to friends and family to put on their cars.
Reaching out can pay off!!!
With the help of a really nice lady in my social network, we have been spreading the word online via GoFundMe, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The lady started a letter writing campaign to churches within a 200 mile radius, news outlets, and politicians. I can now say that all the legwork can prove to be beneficial. My GoFundMe campaign is tapped, out, but more importantly, the local newspaper did a story on me and it made the front page in print.
http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendal...818-story.html
Thanks to all the online and newspaper attention, 7 potential live donors came forward to my transplant center for testing. Unfortunately, the first 5 were disqualified to be donors due to health issues, but the simple fact that they went through the testing means more to me than the results. The kicker about these folks? None of them are related to me, and 3 of them I have never met in person yet.
It's important to get out there and tell everyone you meet about your situation. I even had shirts made with a cartoon graphic of me on it asking for a kidney donor. I also had bumper stickers made that I hand out to friends and family to put on their cars.
Reaching out can pay off!!!
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