Friends of Joey

With Bill Richard's permission, I am posting his story from his website www.friendsofjoey.com

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This website will offer information about what you can do to donate a kidney, where to go, and what's involved with the process before, during and after.

I dedicated this website to my friend and people like him who give selflessly through living donation of a kidney. They are the true heroes that help make the life of someone else healthier and happier. If you donate, you're a friend of Joey!

Hi, my name is Bill Richards. I would like to share with all of you my amazing story in hopes that it might inspire you to get involved with living donation and help people with kidney disease get healthy and back into living life. On March 17th, 1982, when I was 13, I was diagnosed with kidney failure and almost died. The reasons for the failure were never really determined as I had no history of kidney disease in my family. I spent roughly a year and a half on dialysis before receiving a cadaver kidney in 1983. This kidney had lasted almost 25 years before scarring on the outer layer led to end stage renal disease (ESRD) starting in 2005. The function of the kidney started to steadily decrease thereafter.

In 2007, faced with the certainty of dialysis yet again and being put on a cadaver waiting list, possibly years, I decided this time I would be more proactive. I turned to my online community of friends on Corral.net, the largest Mustang enthusiast site on the web. I joined that forum in 2004, because I am a Mustang nut and had come to know many on the site as honest, decent people. I sent out my request that I needed help in the form of a living donor transplant. No sooner did I ask than did I receive. A member on the site, Kurt (username, PUNISHER), started a "thread topic" about my situation. No sooner did that thread go up did people offer to help. People began inquiring on how they could get tested, not missing a beat. I was truly overwhelmed.

A few people contacted me directly, volunteering a healthy kidney. Miles (carpediem50), Cara (Gotorque?), Matt (stangmaster), and Joey (speedfreak87), all selflessly offered what I desperately needed without hesitation. It is to these people I owe a great debt of thanks and I know there are many more out there as giving as these incredible people. With the guidance of the transplant team, they suggested starting with the closest availabe donor. Joey was the closest, living in a town near my home. He offered to be tested and we were a match. It is for him that this site was created, to raise awareness of living donation, disspell some myths and to let all of you know your gift can make a deep impact on someone in need. Sure, it's a lot to ask, but sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. Please get involved today!

Mission Statement: To have a global living donor database for kidney transplants as a portal of contact that joins recipients and donors together. Having the largest database available will yield better matches and better surgery outcomes. The goal is to effectively end dialysis for kidney patients.

I am certain there are many more people like Joey out there. Life is the ultimate gift you can give and life is about redemption.