LAKE MARY, Fla. – After three months of hope, a Lake Mary man got some unfortunate news.
Roddy Naranjo has been experiencing kidney failure for years and thought he had found the perfect match back in May when Keith Gibson was found to be a match shortly after he filled out a questionnaire to be a donor.
"I got a phone call about 10 days later saying your a perfect match and I nearly dropped the phone," added Gibson.
But it wasn't ultimately meant to be.
After three months of testing and shortly before scheduling a date for surgery, doctors told Gibson his kidney was abnormal and he wouldn't be able to be a donor. It was hard news to break to Naranjo over the phone.
"Complete sadness, crushed and I tried not to convey that because I knew he would probably feel the same way," Gibson said.
It was obviously a big letdown for Naranjo also.
"Immediately it was almost like 'oh no, not this again type thing,' all of a sudden now I have to start all over again," Naranjo said.
Gibson tells us he hopes to inspire other people to give it a chance and become a donor.
As for Naranjo, he's not losing hope either. Earlier this year, Gibson, a police officer, was on duty when he saw a car magnet he could not ignore.
"I was on foot patrol in the parking lot and I saw on the back of the car, a car magnet (that said) 'In need of an O+ kidney owner with a number' and it piqued my interest," Gibson said.
Naranjo had been using magnets and shirts to find a match.
He's already planning to bring back the car magnets and T-shirts in search for another possible match.
"Other people have it worse, you just have to keep going day by day live it to the best of your ability and just go forward," Naranjo said. "You have to be, you have to be, there's only one life right?" said Roddy.
You could help be a organ donor by visiting your local hospital or going online and registering to see if you're someone's match at https://registerme.org/
https://www.kidney.org/transplantation/beadonor.