Man, 77, takes to streets to find kidney for wife

Man, 77, takes to streets to find kidney for wife

UNITED STATES - He has been married for 57 years, and Mr Larry Swilling, 77, has shown how deep the love for his wife is.

Madam Jimmie Sue was born with one kidney and after a lifetime of relying on the sole organ, she needs a kidney donation.

But her husband, Mr Swilling, is not a match, nor is anyone in her family.

And while she waits for a donor, he has taken to the streets of his hometown in Anderson, South Carolina, to ask strangers if they would donate a kidney for the love of his life.

"She's my heart," the desperate husband told CBS News about his quest to find an organ donor for his wife.

She is on a donor list, but the wait is about two or three years long and that's for a kidney from a deceased donor.

Transplant patients who get kidneys from living donors tend to live longer. Mr Swilling has been walking around the streets of his hometown with a signboard which reads "Need Kidney 4 Wife".

His efforts have met with some success.

The Daily Mail reported that "hundreds of people" have called the number on the sign to volunteer to be tested as a match.

"I'm willing to donate a kidney for your wife," one caller said on voicemail, CBS News reported.

"We'd love to find out how to be tested," said another.

Donations collected for the elderly couple

No match has been found so far, but the couple are happy that many people have offered to help.

They are hoping that the volunteers would donate anyway, so that another person in need of a kidney could have a chance at life.

Madam Sue said: "If I get a kidney, fine. If I don't, I hope someone else does." But it's not good enough for Mr Swilling.

And that's why he is still appealing to the kindness of strangers - for the love of his life.

Donations are being collected for a fund to help the couple, the report added.


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