Marie-Josee Coyle was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1993. Since then, she’s managed her condition and done what the doctors have told her to do.
A couple of years ago, doctors told her that her condition had worsened.
“I was told I had to go on dialysis. There are two options again for the kidney — you have the living donors and you have the deceased donors. I’m on the list for the deceased donor.”
The waitlist can take years and there are no guarantees of getting a match.
Friends and family didn’t end up with a match either.
Coyle is hoping to connect with a living donor.
It was last October that she came up with a unique idea to advertise her need for a new kidney.
She and her husband Murray made a sign for the rear window of their car.
Coyle got Murray to draw a caricature of a kidney and she came up with the sign that reads, “KIDNEY NEEDED, O positive, Share your spare & be a hero. Call M-J 613-539- 0407”
Whenever Coyle is out, the sign is visible in the car’s back window.
Murray says they’re pulling out all the stops hoping to get a call that says there is a match.
“When that phone rings, that’s the first thing, as soon as that phone rings, it’s like… ‘Who is it?'”
Coyle says the sign and a plea on Facebook have generated some interest and a handful of calls.
So far no match, but the couple says their public plea could help someone else and it’s an opportunity to raise awareness.
Murray says many people aren’t aware that registering for organ donation has changed in Ontario.
“People don’t realize that they have to register online to be a deceased donor. It’s not as simple as it was before signing the back of the licence.”
It can take anywhere from six to 12 months to complete testing and confirm if a person can become a living donor.
Comments