A man who turned to strangers in a desperate bid to find his wife a kidney donor has revealed how the power of social media saved her life.
Luis Pinto from North Carolina decided to place an ad for a kidney donor on his car window after his wife Phyllis was told she would need a kidney transplant.
Phyllis was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease four years ago, and was in stage 4 kidney disease when she was told she would need a new kidney.
Bright idea: Luis Pinto from North Carolina decided to place an ad for a kidney donor in his car window after his wife Phyllis was told she needed a kidney transplant but couldn’t find a match
Desperate measure: Luis drove around with a sign that read ‘Wife Needs A Kidney, “O” Blood Type,’ along with his phone number for four years before they found a donor
Rare: As Phyllis has a rare blood type, none of her family or friends were a suitable match
‘We asked friends and family — there’s only so many of those, and there were no matches, nobody who said, ‘I’ll try.’ And I was like, what do I do?’ Luis told Yahoo Lifestyle.
‘The only thing I could think of at that point was social media. Thank God that’s available,’ he added.
Desperate to find a way to keep the mother of his two children alive, Luis decided to turn to a wider audience after reading about someone else in a similar position who had found success by putting a sign in a car window.
So for four years, he drove around in his Jeep with a sign placed in the rear-view mirror that read: ‘Wife Needs A Kidney, ‘O’ Blood Type,’ along with his phone number.
He said he would notice people taking pictures of the car, and they began to share it on social media.
The picture went viral in December 2017 and went all over the world, including from someone in Dubai. However, not everyone was prepared to take the next step and commit to surgery.
One in a million: While the ad received a lot of attention, only one woman named Heather Johnson (pictured) came forward for tests to see if she was compatible
Emotional: Luis and Phyllis invited Heather and her family to their home for Easter, and Luis said that it was an emotional day as the families got to know each other ahead of the surgery
‘There are a lot of good people out there who want to do it. But they wouldn’t go to the next step, maybe they changed their minds.’
However, one person who didn’t change her mind was Heather Johnson, the mother of a child who also has kidney issues. She told the couple that the sign ‘moved’ her.
As Heather lived just 45 minutes away in North Carolina, she was able to meet with doctors to see if she was a suitable match and luckily she passed all tests ‘with flying colors’.
Luis and Phyllis invited Heather and her family to their home for Easter and Luis said that it was an emotional day.
‘The emotions were running so high. To finally meet this person one-on-one, her family and everything. It’s become a wonderful relationship. I was asking God, and he sent us Heather.’
Phyllis and Heather underwent surgery on May 15, and both women are doing well and recovering in hospital.
Recovery: Phyllis (left) and Heather (right) underwent surgery on May 15, and both women are doing well and recovering in hospital
Luis called the woman who saved his wife a ‘sweet, wonderful person’. And as Heather will be out of work during her recovery time, Luis has raised some funds to help her during this time.
He also called Heather a ‘wonderful angle,’ adding that he couldn’t have asked for an angel like her if he tried.
He’s also planning a trip to Disney World for the donor, since she has never been. He is trying to raise funds to help her and her children travel there.
‘I told her she’s a part of my family, as far as I’m concerned, she’s my new sister. We’re going to take care of her, and she’ll always have a family with us,’ he added.