Music Teacher Hits The Road Hoping To Find A Kidney Donor
BOSTON (CBS) - When we spotted a unique advertisement on Facebook for someone looking for a kidney, well, it made us wonder. The message on the back of a car reads: "To ditch dialysis and resume dancing: Kidney donor needed, B+ 617-799-9741."
So we called the number to learn the story and we found out, it's all about hope for a better life.
Catherine Boger is a songwriter and works at the Berklee College of Music. She's written a song about her need for a kidney transplant and being stuck on a transplant waiting list. "I have polycystic kidney disease. It's a hereditary condition," she explains.
Even though she's on that waiting list, now she's going direct. Using her car as a traveling message board, hoping a good Samaritan steps up and is a match.
"There's nothing you can think of that people haven't done to try to find a donor. They've put up billboards. But a lot of people have had success with car signs, so I put a sign on my car," she says.
For more than six years Catherine has been on home dialysis, and does six "exchanges" every day. "I do five on a cycler machine overnight, and I do one in the afternoon," she explains.
Which means she's tethered to dialysis for a big chunk of the day and it's not a cure. "Your blood isn't fully clean so your brain gets a little foggy, and your body gets tired," she says.
She knows the car sign is a long shot, but only a transplant can give her the freedom and health to do what she wants. The stakes are high for Catherine. Her grandfather, mother and uncle died from kidney disease.
Kidneys are one of the few organs that can be donated from a "live" donor. There are over 100,000 Americans waiting for kidney transplants.
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