Florida man going to extreme measures in search for a kidney for wife

ORANGE CITY, Fla. - Kirk Plante has turned the back of his pickup into a billboard, in hopes of finding his wife a kidney. 

The back reads, "In desperate need of a kidney transplant," and gives Plante's phone number.  The kidney is for his wife, Stacie. 

"Well, I was admitted to the hospital last December with kidney failure. I had a biopsy in January and told my kidneys were shot," she says.

Stacie, who has type-2 diabetes, says she's on dialysis ten hours a day. 

"Right now, I don't get to do a lot because I get out of energy so easy. Even going to the grocery store is very hard."

She's on a transplant list but has no idea when a kidney might come available. Kirk decided to post it on his pickup to see if anyone can help, but so far no luck. 

"We've had a few people stop us and ask what her blood type is, in traffic."

Since Kirk's kidneys aren't a match for his wife, he says he's prepared to donate one of his kidneys in what's called a "paired exchange."  That's when the couple connects with a matching couple also searching for a kidney. Then the two eligible donors each give a kidney to the two patients who need them.

"So I'm helping somebody and they're helping her," Kirk says, "so an exchange program, basically."

Anyone who wants to help can reach out to the Plantes to see if they could be a match at (386) 456-3647.

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