Bucks County, Pa. man buys billboards, ads to find kidney donor: 'It's life or death'
Don Brown even bought a billboard in New York City's Time Square in hopes of finding a donor.
DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Seventy-four-year-old Don Brown, of Doylestown, Bucks County is now on more than a dozen billboards in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even as far as Times Square in New York City.
Brown needs a kidney from a living donor as soon as possible.
"What it means to me is, it's life or death," said Brown from his Doylestown home.
His website details how his medical condition has worsened: "My kidneys are failing due to exposure as a young adult to heavy metals while working in my family's scrap metal business. In order to slow the progression of my kidney disease, I began a plant-based diet and a regimen of weight training and exercise which has enabled me to survive this long."
But time is running out. Brown is praying for a living donor to come forward by January.
"With the help of lots of friends we put this campaign together," said Brown.
His Times Square billboards were up this past weekend. Additionally, he has 13 billboards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
He also has more than 70 digital ads on SEPTA platforms, bus stops and the radio.
On his website Kidney2Don.com, those closest to him show a little humor in their search for a kidney. They also outline the amount of good he has done in the Doylestown community.
Brown created a group to help widows navigate the loss of their spouses. He mentors entrepreneurs and he has a business that finances the renovation of homes to sell to young families.
"He is an extraordinary human being who has made such an impact on so many people's lives. And if he can get a living donor to donate a kidney, he's got another 20 years left to help more people," said Emily Cohen, who met Brown through his widow support group.
You can head to his website which will connect potential donors with the National Kidney Donation Organization and the National Kidney Registry. Then eligible donors will be vetted.
"The donor doesn't have to be a match," said Brown. "The National Kidney Donation Organization works closely with the National Kidney Registry. If somebody is willing to donate, it goes into the kidney bank. Regardless of their medical match to me, it doesn't matter if they donate, I get a voucher and I can take that voucher to a Kidney Transplant Center."
