Thank you to everyone who donated to our first campaign. We raised $13,420 of our $65,000 goal. 101 people donated!

Here is the link to our new campaign:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/social-media-stole-my-kidney-two/x/2351351?c=home

I lost my kidney on Twitter. Yep, you read that correctly. A little over two years ago, I was about to get into the tub on a Friday night. I checked Twitter as the water was running, and saw the tweet that would change my life.

A woman who I had tweeted with for about a year, and who I met over the summer at a dinner party, tweeted that her mom's kidney disease had gotten bad enough that she had finally agreed to being put on the donor list. It would take 2-6 years for her to get a kidney.

She wouldn't live that long.

"I'll do it. I'll donate my kidney. What do I have to do?" Kirti sent me a DM on Twitter, asking if she could call me. We talked later that night. I ran to Google as soon as I got out of the tub, because I honestly knew nothing about donating a kidney. By the time she called, I was ready to begin.

During the testing process, I lost my job. Because of Social Media, though, I had a job the next day, from a Twitter follower. Oh, and The Today Show came out twice to film us. 

I donated my kidney to TinyMom on April 19, 2011. 

My life changed drastically two years ago. Never in my 40 years had I thought that I'd know so much about kidneys! I've always been a Social Media junkie, and I've used it extensively throughout the years. But, since I started the testing, then donating, I've become a bit of a spokesperson on live organ donation. I wake up almost every day to an email, tweet, or Facebook post from someone that include an article on a kidney donation. I get them from around the world! It's amazing how this has affected my life. Donating my kidney to TinyMom has completely changed my life!

I live and breathe kidneys now. 

I can't stop talking about it. I won't. I even had a Twitter follower donate...because of me and my story!

Objectives

1) To educate the public on the huge but addressable problem of chronic kidney disease and kidney failure and the option of transplantation and living kidney donation

2) To create a film documenting real stories of living kidney donors across the nation

3) To highlight the safety of kidney donation

4) To highlight the additive potential of public awareness and public action

5) To continue to use Social Media to reach across distance to achieve success

6) To share personal and revolutionary stories of changing attitudes

7) To reveal the unlikely players in a very apropo movement

What We Need & What You Get

We will be leaving on May 1st to start our trip. We're headed up the West coast and up into Calgary, then back down to drive to the East coast. Our fundraising goal is $65,000. This will be used for camera equipment, our promotional materials, and trip incidentals. There are about 20 other kidney donors along the way. 

We've got some pretty cool promotional items for your donations. The logo design is on everything, from T-shirts, to mugs and tote bags. We've even got a pretty slick movie poster!

Once the film is done, we will be enterting it into different film festivals, to continue on with live organ donation awareness. I also started a non-profit organization to help & support other donors. There isn't much for aftercare or long-term studies done on us. This needs to change so that more people will think about testing and saving lives. 

The Impact

Do you know anyone with kidney disease? How about any live organ donors? Just think of what would happen if you did, and people saw this film. 

My recipient wasn't the only sick person out there. My 48-hour hospital stay was pretty easy. The more people who see this film, the more people become aware of live organ donation. Guess what that equals? More lives saved.

I want this to be a subject people TALK about. 

Other Ways You Can Help

Please share our campaign with others! You can help save lives, even if you can't afford to contribute.