TAMPA, Fla. —Two local men who are suffering from kidney failure are in need of donors, and they're asking strangers to help.
Ramjee Vysyaraju has lost multiple family members to the same type of kidney failure making him sick — but he hasn’t lost hope.
Especially after seeing that someone snapped a picture of his car and shared it on Facebook. He painted, “save my life, become a living kidney donor," on the back window.
His grandfather, father and uncle were all killed by the same type of failure — and his aunt is currently on dialysis.
"When somebody does something like this, they don’t understand how big of a help it is,” he said. “It’s not like I’m asking for a bag of popcorn, I’m asking for kidney and it’s a huge sacrifice for anyone to make.”
He’s afraid of leaving behind his wife and two adoptive children.
"This bond is very special, it’s almost like I made a promise willingly that I will be there for them,” he said. "I must do anything to make sure that I am there for them."
Vysyaraju’s match is someone who is O positive.
Life Link of Florida says 114,000 people are on the deceased donor waiting list. 5,600 of them are in Florida and of those, 84% need a kidney.
Tampa General Hospital is one of the business places in the state for living donor transplants. Click here to learn about their living donor program.
Leo Cortes is only 24-years-old but he'll need a new kidney soon. His autoimmune disease has started attacking his, leaving them with only 10 percent function.
He needs a match who is A positive.
He posted on a community Facebook page begging for someone to donate.
"People die every day from just waiting so I’m hoping I’m not one of those,” said Cortes. "I want to live. I want to live and I want to enjoy the rest my life as long as I can.”
If you’d like to sign up to become a donor, click here.
If you would like to contact Leo, e-mail him at leoc1018@gmail.com. If you would like to contact Ramjee, you can e-mail him at Vysyaraju@hotmail.com, or call him 941-704-5966.
