Iowa Man Goes Viral, Finds Much Needed Kidney Donor
Shane Blanchard was facing kidney failure in 2021. His story goes much deeper than that.
A native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Blanchard had received a plethora of blood transfusions, and therefore, his body would only be able to take on an organ from a living donor. That makes things quite a bit more difficult.
The upside? His blood type is AB+, meaning he can take on anyone's blood or organs. Finding a living person willing to give up a kidney, though? Not so easy.
His inspiring story, backed by his drive to live, caught plenty of attention on social media. Over the span of his journey, he began to receive a significant following on the no-longer-active Facebook page, 'Shane Needs a Donor.'
This is what he told KCCI in the thick of it all:
I've been through the ups and downs, the peaks and the valleys, and I know there's always gonna be light at the end of the tunnel, and that's what I look toward is the light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing I'm gonna have issues along the way, and I already expect that and I know that's gonna happen, but I put trust into my care team and I put trust in my physicians and know everything is gonna turn out alright.
As also reported by KCCI, Blanchard finally found his match in his cousin, Jeremy Hauser. The pair underwent surgery in November of last year, and so far, everything is going well.
This is what Hauser told the news station:
I knew it was going to be difficult to find a match for him. So, I started doing research about the process and how it works, and what I could expect. And I just really felt a pulling effect on my part to do what I could to help Shane.
As for Shane -- it's a new lease on life.
It's a whole life for me. I'm not tied to a machine 10 hours a day. I'm not going to doctor’s appointments every other day. It's a completely different life.