This Saskatoon woman needs a kidney. Do you have a 'spare' you could share?
CBC
A Saskatoon woman's plea to find an organ donor has drawn more attention than she ever believed possible.
Debbie Onishenko has been diabetic since she was 13 years old. The disease has now affected her kidneys, causing her to require dialysis.
Now she's asking the public a simple question: do you have a kidney you could spare?
"For myself, it would be life changing if I could get a kidney. It would just mean I would have a life again," Onishenko told CBC News in an interview.
Her red car has drawn eyes in Saskatoon thanks to a bold attempt to get the public's attention.
On the rear window of the vehicle, the phrase "Kidney Needed Type O, 306-249-1971, Share Your Spare" is displayed.
"I'm hoping that it brings awareness again to donating because sometimes people forget and get on with their lives and don't think about these things and how important they are," she said.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, 57 people were waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor transplant as of July 31, while one person was waiting for a living donor transplant.
The average patient will wait about 2.8 years before they get a kidney.
Onishenko says the stats show why it is important for people in the province to know that they can lend a hand.
You can become an organ donor and assist someone in need after death, or in the case of a kidney, choose to donate one of the two you have.
"Everyone can live off of one kidney and a live donor has to be someone who is willing to do this on their own and come forward to help someone," she told CBC's Saskatoon Morning earlier this week.
WATCH| Saskatoon woman uses car ad in hopes of finding kidney donor
For Onishenko, every day is getting harder, as she only has about nine per cent kidney function.
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