The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An ailing Ohio man whose family taped bright yellow letters asking for a kidney to the rear window of his SUV last year has found a donor.
Neal Raisman, 68, received a new kidney Friday at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center after suffering with kidney disease for seven years and being on dialysis for one, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The former college president and professor from the Columbus suburb of Bexley made the news last May when his daughter, Shana, used yellow tape to write a message on his silver-blue SUV that read: “Got kidney? I need 1. PLEASE call or text.”
Since then, Raisman said he has fielded more than 100 calls. Some were from pranksters while others were from people making illegal offers.
Raisman said a central Ohio woman called about four months ago saying she saw the message on his car and wanted to help. After she cleared all the requirements, Raisman was told by his transplant coordinator a month ago that he had a kidney. The donor wished to remain anonymous.
Raisman’s surgeon told Raisman’s wife, Aileen, and his daughter that the surgery was “everything he had hoped.”
“It was a perfect kidney,” Dr. Amer Rajab said. “No complications.”
Tears and hugs ensued when his donor visited Raisman’s room after the surgery.
“Tell me how you put a price on a second chance at life?” Aileen Raisman said. “How can anyone possibly know what that means?”