Husband launches social media campaign to find kidney donation

WARWICK, R.I. — Warwick's Jim Small is taking to his truck to try to help secure a kidney donor for his wife.

On April 14, he put a sign on the back of his pickup truck reading, "Type O Blood. Wife Needs Kidney. Please Donate," along with his phone number.

Jim's wife, April was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease over 20 years ago. PKD is a condition where cysts grow on the kidneys, in essence strangling the kidneys and not allowing them to do their job properly. She has type O-negative blood, a relatively rare blood type, so finding a match in a potential donor is difficult.

"I'm happy that he's doing this," April Small told NBC 10. "It's just an uncomfortable feeling for me to put my whole life out there."

But April has seen what a transplant can do. Her brother, Lloyd Nieforth suffered from the same condition. His wife Lisa happens to be the same blood type and donated a kidney to him.

"It takes a very special person to do it and there's a little bit of luck involved too because we didn't even know if she would match," Nieforth said.

If there is a match out there for April however, Jim will find it. His daughter's car also sports a similar sign, and he is monitoring an online campaign for potential donors. For him, it's really a numbers game.

"You talk to somebody, and you say, 'My wife needs a kidney,' and they know somebody who knows somebody," said Small.

April is on a list to receive a transplant, but if she can provide her own donor, she is able to go forward with the process as soon as necessary. This option certainly benefited her brother and his wife, Lisa.

"I would say to anybody, you will not have any diminished functionality at all," said Lisa Nieforth. "And you would be doing something that only you could give to another person."

Lisa says that a common myth that the donor is sick following donation or needs to take medication for the rest of his /her life is completely false. She was in the hospital for just four days before walking out to a normal life, with her healthy husband by her side.

"I woke up feeling 100 percent better instantly," said Lloyd Nieforth. "I woke up and I knew I had a new kidney."

For information on how you can be tested as a potential donor for April, you can contact Jim directly by calling or texting (401) 258-6621.

Potential donors can also contact Rhode Island Hospital's Transplant Center here.