Mother in desperate need of kidney for son, posts ad onlineOct 2, 2007 05:55 AM
Filed by Shannon Powell
Timothy Merritt has been sick most of his life. Four years ago, it got worse. He was diagnosed with kidney failure and was put on dialysis 3 days a week.
"His doctor told him it would be 6-8 years before he could get a kidney," said his mother, Madeline Merritt. "I really don't think he's going to last that long," she continued. Hearing that her son may not get a kidney for 6-8 years, Madeline Merritt started talking to everyone about getting tested and possibly becoming a kidney donor for her son.
"I thought to myself, something has got to give. Something has got to happen because I've been talking for three years to everybody that I meet and it just hasn't produced any results," said Merritt.
Her daughter was almost a perfect match, but she has Multiple Sclerosis and doctors warned against her proceeding with the donation.
So one day while placing an ad on Craigslist, Timothy's mom thought, "Why not ask for what I truly need."
The ad she placed read: Help - desperately need a kidney. "I'll do whatever it takes," said Merritt.
Merritt decided to use a non-traditional method of reaching people. She placed a classified ad on a web site, one that the local organ donors network says is not unethical.
"We do see it happen. It's usually been pretty rare. I expect we'll see it even more in the future because there's such a critical shortage of organs," said Dena Reynolds with Lifenet Health And Networks, which helps match donors to recipients.
Merritt says she'll post this ad until she finds a donor. She says she'll do it because this is her son's life and she wants him to have every chance at living his life to the fullest.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=7154204
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