‘In need of kidney A+’: A local man’s public plea to help extend his life

A man is plastering his plea for a kidney all over Windsor after he made a sign for his vehicle. CTV Windsor’s Stefanie Masotti reports.

A Tecumseh man is attempting to increase his chances of getting a kidney transplant by publicly listing his phone number on multiple vehicles across Windsor-Essex.

“I decided to be proactive and see if I could come up with a living donor,” explained Dwight Hesman, who was diagnosed with kidney failure three years ago and has been waiting for a new one ever since.

“It’s a very slow process.”

He said he’s received half a dozen inquiries since his phone number hit the streets six months ago.

“Just the fact that somebody would entertain the idea of actually being interested in doing this, it’s mind blowing,” he added.

According to the Ontario Health Trillium Gift of Life Network, the wait time for a kidney transplant is anywhere between two to six years.

How long a patient waits will depend on the number of compatible kidneys that are available for transplant.

Hesman is on a wait list for a deceased donor which would help extend a recipient’s life by approximately five years. A living donor would increase a lifespan by about 15 years.

“There’s a definite need,” said Hesman who is calling on the provincial government to pass the Peter Kormos Memorial Act.

The bill proposes to make organ and tissue donation a procedure to opt out, rather than the current system that requires participants to opt in to donating organs upon death.

For more information on the process of donating an organ you can call London Health Sciences Centre at 519-685-8500.

If you are interested in helping Hesman, you can reach him directly at 226-340-1406.