Louisville event raises awareness for organ donations, seeks kidney donor for local father

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An event on Sunday at Alberta O. Jones Park shared the importance of organ donations and tried to help a Louisville man find a kidney donor.

Kevin Wilson is a father, husband and local business owner. But his life took an unexpected turn this year as he was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease. It requires daily hemodialysis.

"It's a life changing event, I'm on a timely schedule daily," Wilson said. "My whole life changed dramatically." 

That's when Marcus Edwards stepped in. 

Edwards went viral in 2019 after holding a sign at a Chicago Bears football game asking for a kidney donor for himself. Edwards eventually received a transplant in 2022 and now helps others going through similar battles through groups like Donate for Life and Mulligans Living Kidney Donors.

"When I was delivered, I promised God that when I found my kidney, I would do work to help others in the same journey," Edwards said. 

Edwards went to school with Wilson's wife and knew his family. He helped organize the "Help Kevin Kick Kidney Disease" on Sunday. Network for Hope, University of Cincinnati Health, the National Kidney Foundation and other groups were set up at the event.

"It's just some information that we can spread out in the community in hopes of finding a kidney for Kevin and not just Kevin, hopefully this reaches somebody who also needs that and call and say 'hey I need the same thing you did for Kevin,' and we're there," Edwards said. "This isn't just a one off thing. This is something I believe in whole-heartedly."

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 33% of American adults are at risk for kidney disease and Black adults are three times more likely to have kidney failure compared to white Americans. 

Event organizers encouraged people to get tested if something feels off. Edwards said the best diagnosis is an early diagnosis. 

"Not all the time does a doctor know that you're having these symptoms or testing you, so we just want to get the word out that when you're feeling bad, you go to the doctor and tell them how you're feeling," Edwards said. "Give them the symptoms. You can always ask them to check your kidney levels."

To see if a person is qualified to donate on behalf of Kevin Wilson, click here.

Wilson also said he hopes the event on Sunday promotes health and awareness. 

"I hope they become aware of what's going on in our community," Wilson said. "People should be aware, one person spoke earlier that they were going to get tested for somebody else and they found out they had something go on in their life."

Edwards has already helped out a friend before in getting matched with an organ transplant. 

In December 2021, Tara Croft said she was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure. She desperately needed a transplant, but after a year of waiting, she took a page of out of her friend's playbook.

Croft made a sign at a University of Louisville football game in 2023 saying she was in need of a kidney. The next morning, she got a call from a mother in a hospital who had seen Croft's photo.

Last year, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates received the highest number of donations and transplants for hearts, kidneys, livers and lungs. Heart donation transplants increased by more than 10%. The nonprofit reported 299 organ donors allowed for 729 transplants, the most in the KODA history. Also thousands of people were helped through tissue donations.

According to Donate Life, more than 103,000 Americans, including 1,000 Kentuckians are awaiting life-saving organs. For information about becoming an organ donor in Kentucky, visit Donate Life Ky.

17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, according to Health Resources & Services Administration. Every donor can save eight lives and enhance over 75 more.