Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, July 25, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Bob Evans has a new kidney because of long-time friend Ray Lindsey.
According to Lindsey's wife Deb, both men are recovering after a successful surgery Thursday.
Several people approached Bob about donating a kidney.
"But they either didn't match or they were in bad health," Rays says. "None of us made this decision for glory or praise, I was just fortunate to have been a match and in excellent health. I am not doing this for media attention, other than to draw people's attention to the importance of organ donation."
Being on a donor list is like writing out a death sentence.
"Bob is 66-years-old. A minimum of 800 donors would have to die before he got a kidney. You see, his family can't donate. He wouldn't have made it that long," Ray added.
Lindsey is encouraging everyone to look into organ donation.
An average of 18 people die each day waiting for a life-saving transplant.
Last year, more than 27,000 lives in the United States were saved through organ transplants. However, over 130,000 people, including over 1,500 Indiana residents, are currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants.
Sadly, due to the critical shortage of organs, many of these people will not get a second chance at life.More than 1,500 Hoosiers are waiting for a life saving organ or tissue transplant.
Both men are hoping others will look into becoming organ donors. To learn more visit http://www.donatelifeindiana.org/
These two have a lot in common, they both love politics and help with political campaigns, trivia games and work together at Limestone Capital Automotive, a body and alignment garage on H Street, owned by Evans. Now a sign is posted outside stating they are closed while the two men recover. Ray also works at Lowe's, they are very supportive of Ray's decision to donate his kidney.
Lindsey told his friend of 10 years last fall he was a match and would be donating one of his kidneys to him.
Evans, of Needmore, suffers from IgA nephropathy, a progressive kidney disease. He was diagnosed five years ago during a routine physical. Evans had no obvious symptoms and felt fine at first, but his doctor, a specialist at Indiana University Health Medical Center in Indianapolis, told him he would need a kidney transplant.
In June 2013, Lindsey learned he was a potential match. But he still had a battery of tests ahead, and doctors told him he would have to quit smoking. It was a long process.
Evans' kidneys began to deteriorate and he was placed on a transplant list last May. Because IgA tends to run in families, none of his family members are eligible to donate. By November, his kidneys were down to 10 percent function, and he was put on dialysis which he now takes four times a day, every day, to remove fluids from his body that his kidneys can no longer filter. The process takes about 45 minutes and leaves him fatigued.
Both men are happy the day is finally approaching and Evans to be off dialysis and be able to lead a normal life.
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