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Welcome to Kidneys For Kids

Help Us Save 100 Lives This Summer!

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Karma Inc Apparel Is Proud To Support Kidneys For Kids!

We donate 20% Of Every Purchase, to support Children Going Through Kidney Transplant or Treatment.!

ABOUT US

Our 2023 Special Mission

Welcome to “Kidneys for Kids” ; a Michigan 5013c. In 2013, I became a kidney donor to a 10 year-old girl in Bay City, Michigan, who was in stage IV renal failure. My kidney donation saved her life. It was a profound experience for both of us. I am now a Peer Mentor for The University Of Michigan Transplant Center, and I have spoken for The National Kidney Foundation Of Michigan, and Donate Life. In September and October of last year, I visited Jackson, Mississippi to advocate for kids in 2 Tv interviews, then Elkton,Virginia, as well as Hampton ,Virginia for personal Tv interviews to advocate for two children in those cities and beyond who need a Kidney Transplant. I will do the same in 48 states and 50 cities starting May 29th, to recruit 100 kidney donors to save the lives of 100 kids.
 
You can support this life saving journey as an individual with a tax deductible donation at:
or-Cashapp- $kidneysforkids
 
Businesses and Corporations, to get involved as a sponsor and to make a tax deductible donation, please contact us at- kidneysforkids@gmail.com
Thank you very much!
Brian Martindale- Executive Director
 
Interview Link
EIN#88-2341457 State Of Michigan Solicitors License #65240
 

Our History

I launched Kidneys For Kids, after becoming a Living Kidney donor in 2013, to a 10 year old girl who I did not know prior to seeing her story. Since then, I have advocated for many others. Now Kidneys For Kids will continue my mission of seeing children receive life saving kidney transplants . Please view “Jessica’s Story” video, and help us to further our mission with a kind donation!

Jessica's Story

Its All About Kids

In the fall of 2012, I read a story about a 10 year-old girl whose mother was holding up a hand-made sign on a prominent downtown street corner in our town of Bay City, Michigan to plead to passersby to help her find a kidney donor for her daughter, Jessica, who was in Stage IV renal failure and in need of dialysis till she could find a donor with a kidney that matched. Her frantic act of maternal love and human desperation was a poignant example of the struggle that some parents go through when their children suffer from organ failure and are faced with limited options to survive. Jessica’s mother was willing to do anything she could to find a donor to save her daughter’s life. 

My heart was very moved by her daughter’s challenge and I wanted to help so I contacted the University of Michigan Transplant Center to get tested to determine if I would be a suitable donor. As it turned out. I was a perfect one-in-a-100,000 match. Then, on January 11, 2013, I became a kidney donor for my now decade-long friend, Jessica Schwerin, who I later learned lived only 4 blocks from me in Bay City. Imagine the odds of that. 

After some weeks of further testing and prep, the operation was conducted and was a complete success. Then two days following our surgeries, I was able to visit Jessica. 

I was wheeled over to see her at C.S. 

Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. 

The tiny, ghostly white little child that I had ridden with to the hospital just two days earlier was suddenly bright pink in color and healthy looking. She wasn’t pale anymore, and she was smiling in her sleep. I was deeply touched and after that overwhelming emotional experience, I somehow knew that I’d be very active in some capacity with living kidney donation efforts for the rest of my life . And Kidneys For Kids is the result of this life changing experience! You can use the DONATE button below, to support my 48 state trip, to bring forward 100 Kidney Donors for 100 Kids! 

Our Mission

KIDNEYS FOR KIDS
ADVOCATION EDUCATION DONATION”
The Mission of Kidneys For Kids is:
To assist families with a child battling kidney disease, or going through transplant, with micro- grants to cover costs not covered by insurance.
Types of costs covered by the Kidneys For Kids grant program- Travel to and from treatment for a child, travel to and from Transplant surgery,and follow up appointments. Costs of prescription drugs and nutritional supplements. Costs of household bills for families with large out of pocket treatment costs for their child. Support of lost income for families during recovery. And we now offer financial assistance to Michigan adults as well.
We also assist Living Kidney Donors who donate to a child or an adult, with costs such as lost wages while recovering, as well as travel or lodging costs. Grant applications may be submitted using the form below.
Kidneys For Kids accepts tax deductible donations, please use our DONATE button above to lend your support!
Tax Id # 88-2341457
State Of Michigan Solicitation License #65240

Official Partners

Updates

Kidneys For Kids Blog

We hope you will find our blogs informative, inspiring, and educational.

Kidney Kids

Donating A Kidney To A Stranger

Hendrik- You’re donating your kidney to– A stranger. Right. I think the coolest part about donating a kidney to a stranger is I may have

Kidney Kids

A Kidney Mom’s Story

My name is Stacy Schwerin, and I’m the mother of Jessica Rose Schwerin, who had a kidney transplant on January 11th, 2013. In a very

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