Georgia Police Officer Raleigh Callaway's Kidney Donor Search Goes Viral; Last-Minute Donation Saves His Life
After being diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney failure earlier this year, Raleigh Callaway, 49, a police officer in Greensboro, Ga., was nearing certain death. He needed a new kidney, but in most parts of the world, organs are extremely precious. So, his family posted a family portrait online, with his two little girls holding a banner that read: "Our daddy needs a kidney!"
It worked. On Friday, Callaway received new lease on life at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, according to the Daily Mail. The donor was a complete stranger; Chris Carroll, who lives in McKinney, Texas. His wife Veronica told ABC News that her husband "saw Raleigh’s picture and read the story and called me and said, ‘I feel God is telling me to do this.' I said, 'I don’t argue with God.'"
Stage 5 kidney failure is considered "end-stage." For people who cannot find a matching kidney or who do not undergo dialysis, it's a death sentence with a lot of slow suffering. Kidneys are like the body's filtration system. When they can no longer remove waste, it builds up in the bloodstream and causes victims to feel ill all the time.
In the United States, about 4,000 people die each year while waiting for a kidney. On a global scale, organs are generally in short supply, with the World Health Organization estimating that the 90 percent of those who need organs won't get them. Out of this has grown a lucrative black market, and creative solutions like the Callaways' method.
With the surgery over, Callaway is recovering and reportedly in good health. His family is in high spirits, posting more pictures with messages: "I am thankful that my daddy will be able to watch me grow up!" And, they've started an organization — Callaway's Angels — to connect more people with kidneys.