When someone is desperate to save their own life, they will stop at nothing and do what they can to achieve that end. But when it’s an organ transplant that’s required, it makes the quest to stay alive a very tricky one.

When David was in his twenties he found out that he had some issues with his kidneys and his only recourse was dialysis which he needed to do almost daily for six years. When enough was enough, David turned to Craigslist in a last-ditch attempt…

Hard Life

Life for David was hard and that was something he had to live with on a daily basis and for many years. He had all but given up hope that his situation would improve, however, David was a positive kind of guy and he dreamt about receiving salvation for his problem. David’s life was hard, and only getting harder.

No Help

Despite David’s serious kidney issues, he found it hard to get the help he needed. Having already turned to family members to try and find a match for a new kidney, David was left disappointed when he was unable to find a match; and understandably so…

Great Efforts

Whatever can be said about David, he sure is persistent. Having failed to find a kidney match from his family members, David promptly turned to the National Kidney Registry, making great efforts to solve his problem. When that also failed, he even started a website which attempted to match donors with recipients.

Losing Hope

The daily dialysis, the other health problems caused by the condition; it was all too much for poor David, and by the age of 29 he was finally losing hope. David had tried everything, exhausted all avenues, and was feeling destitute, rejected and down. He was losing hope fast and something needed to give…

Craigslist Advert

Craigslist was the last place that David thought he would find salvation from, but by this stage, he was desperate and would stop at nothing to ease the pain. He logged into an old account he had on the site and posted an ad seeking a donor who was a match for a new kidney. A few days later and David was in for a nice surprise.

Donor Found

Amazingly, it didn’t even take long for responses to start pouring in. Having posted on the Bay Area Craigslist’s “volunteers” section, David soon linked up with a 30-year-old Newport Beach woman named Jessica. Clearly a selfless soul, Jessica agreed to donate her kidney to this perfect stranger…

New Friends

For David, Jessica was a godsend and literally a lifesaver. No sooner had the two chatted about the situation that the surgery for the lifesaving transplant was arranged, and the two were to be admitted together at the UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus. David could have cried when he met Jessica and wasn’t at all sure why she was helping him in the first place.

Transplant Success

Luckily for both David and Jessica, the kidney transplant operation was a resounding success and David was potentially looking at a future without dialysis. By Friday morning the two were recovering nicely in the hospital and, despite some incision pains, were both looking good…

Total Gratitude

David spoke to reporters about the situation, “I look at this as the beginning of a long journey and the ending of another one,” he said. “The pain just reminds me that I have a gift from somebody who saved my life. I’ve never felt more grateful.” He added.

Inspired By Dad

When Jessica was asked why she gave her kidney to a complete stranger her answer was surprising. She informed reporters that after her father died from cancer she was actively looking for someone in need of a kidney so she could save a life. Jessica feels that she and David will be lifelong friends from here on in and for good reason…

Forever Friends

“He has a part of me now, so we’ll probably be close for the rest of our lives,” Jessica said, adding, “My dad had cancer, and I saw a few people pass away of cancer, and kidney failure is very similar to it,” she said. But she always felt she had the power to help others in need.

Power To Help

Jessica is clearly a special person and her act of kindness to David is proof of that, “People are dying, they’re suffering, and it’s destroying their families, but there’s a treatment for it. I’ve always thought if you have the power to help someone and save a life, why not?” She said…

Totally Thrilled

Amazingly, Jessica had been actively looking for recipients for her kidney for some time, so when she saw the Craigslist post from David, which somehow found it’s way to her Facebook feed, she was thrilled and fired off a message to David immediately.

Emotional Gain

Jessica had clearly thought long and hard before she donated her kidney to David. She spoke about the fact that the only thing the donor has to gain from the exchange is on an emotional level, “You don’t always get the option to meet your recipient. As a donor, the only thing you have to gain is emotional, so if you don’t know where it’s going, it’s kind of a pointless procedure,” she said…

Eight Hours A Day

Before David met Jessica, he needed to sit for eight hours a day, three days per week, hooked up to a dialysis machine. Having been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, life for David became unbearable. Before his transplant, David stooped into a deep depression, and one he almost didn’t pull out of.

Six Years Later…

“When it first happened, I didn’t take it that seriously. I assumed it was something I could take a pill for and deal with the rest of my life,” David said. “Six years later, it’s the hardest experience I’ve ever gone through. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

Shot In The Dark

David knew that the Craigslist posting was a “shot in the dark” as he put it. However, he was not dissuaded and went ahead and posted anyway, “I didn’t think a single person would get back to me. I thought if anyone would get back to me it would be a joke or a scammer,” David said.

Many Responses

Sure, David received a bunch of responses before Jessica reached out to him but none of them were “Kosher.” According to David, he received 150 responses but almost all of them were from people who wanted large amounts of cash for the transaction; something David couldn’t afford and wasn’t interested in as it was totally illegal as well as immoral…

No Strangers

The connection between David and Jessica was a special one from the get-go, and that was also for good reason, “She gave a piece of her body to me. I could not have imagined doing this experience with a random stranger who just showed up at the hospital,” David said.

Purpose In Life

“I saw death in the eye, and now that I’ve seen what it looks like and what it feels like and what more than half a million people in America go through every day, I realized I can’t turn my back on it,” Jessica said. “She gave me this new purpose in life,” David added.