North Carolina man pushes for new license plate to raise funds for NKF

Newton man pushes for new license plate
'Everybody's got these license plates with everything under the sun on them. Why not make one that will help someone?'

By Dee Henry
Record Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007

NEWTON -- Two-time kidney transplant recipient Jeff Sigmon knows how difficult it is to find a suitable organ donor. With a third transplant almost a certainty in his future, he wants to do all he can to raise awareness of the need for more donors.

“Give the gift of life,” Sigmon said when asked what his message to the general public would be. And he’s illustrating that message through a license plate.

Sigmon, 37, of Newton, was diagnosed with kidney disease when he was 5 years old. Other than not being allowed to participate in contact sports, he says he had a “pretty normal” childhood.

But the disease did take a toll, and at age 18 he had his first transplant, a kidney from his mother, Jean.

Transplanted kidneys last about 10 years on the average, but Sigmon’s lasted a little longer. He didn’t need his second transplant until two years ago, at age 35. That kidney came from his cousin, Howard Franks of Nashville, N.C., who has been more like a brother than a cousin to Sigmon.

Sigmon said his condition has had a silver lining of making his family very close-knit. In fact, his sister, Lynn, wanted to donate her kidney for his second transplant, but was considered ineligible by doctors.

Sigmon’s transplants went smoothly. He did not experience any rejection episodes, something fairly common with kidney transplants.

“To me, it wasn’t really a big deal,” he said. “I was in the hospital for a week.”

However, he realizes what a sacrifice being a donor was for his cousin, who had never had surgery before. After donating a kidney to Sigmon, Franks took on the cause as well, even playing in a golf tournament benefitting the National Kidney Foundation with Sigmon.

It was during that tournament that Sigmon started thinking about how to raise money for kidney disease research. Then, the idea hit him.

“Everybody’s got these license plates with everything under the sun on them. Why not make one that will help someone?” he said.

He contacted state Rep. Mitch Gillespie with the idea of a special license plate, since it would have to be approved by the Legislature to become reality.

It passed that test, the design has been completed and the National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina is accepting applications for the plates. When the foundation receives 300 applications, the plates will be made and mailed out by the DMV.

The special plates fall under the same regulations as regular North Carolina license plates, with old ones needing to be turned in to the DMV.

Like his other endeavors, the license plate has become a Sigmon family affair. In addition to his own application for a license plate, he has applications for his wife, Amy, his mother and father, Jean and Jerry, and his sisters, Kim and Lynn.

The plates cost $30 in addition to the regular license fees charged by the Division of Motor Vehicles. Personalized versions cost $60. Funds raised from the sales of the plates will support educational and prevention efforts for early chronic kidney disease.

dhenry@hickoryrecord.com | 322-4510 x5410 or 304-6917