A Facebook Miracle: New Friend Donates Kidney to Man in Need

A little more than two years ago, Jeff Kurze found out he would need a kidney transplant. After coping with anemia, high blood pressure and heart complications throughout his life, Kurze, 35, said it was something he anticipated. But also something he knew would be a challenge— some patients wait five to seven years before finding a kidney match, doctors say. 

But a sign of hope came sooner than expected when Royal Oak resident Ricky Cisco responded to a Facebook status by Jeff Kurze's wife, Roxy, last November. Roxy had posted that she wished she could find a kidney and Cisco responded with a private message and asked if they could meet to discuss her husband's situation.

"I don't use Facebook to vent," Roxy said during a news conference on Monday at in Royal Oak. "I just did it out of desperation and love."

Without telling her husband right away, Roxy, 30, met with Cisco for coffee and discovered that he had the same blood "Type O" as Jeff and was willing to donate his kidney. Roxy, a web designer, said this was the first time she'd ever had a conversation with Cisco and knew him through a client.

"It was really sort of the right time for me to do certain things in my life that I would normally be scared of doing," said Cisco, 25. "It's easy to forget you have two kidneys and you only need one."

After doctors performed tests, Jeff and Cisco were declared a match and the transplant surgery took place on March 30 at . Now, both men are in good condition and Jeff said he will no longer need dialysis three times a week. Dialysis is a procedure that makes up for the normal functions of a failed kidney.

"It was just an amazing experience and I love Ricky for this," said Jeff, who lives in Warren with his wife. "I do feel blessed."

Dr. Alan Koffron, a member of the surgical team for the transplant, said though the procedure is safe, it's still a struggle to find people willing to donate their kidney. And finding a donor on Facebook is something he's never heard of at Beaumont.

"It's rare that someone wants to do it," Koffron said.

Koffron said there are currently about 100,000 people in the U.S. waiting for a kidney donor. And each year someone is on dialysis, there is a 10 percent chance of death.

With a new kidney, Jeff Kurze will be able to move on with a normal and healthy lifestyle all because of the selflessness of someone who was a complete stranger five months ago.

"If I had another kidney I'd do it again," Cisco said.