Are You The Match? Searching For A Kidney For Kabir
LODI (CBS13) — A local man in need of a kidney is turning to social media to make his quest a reality.
Kabir Randhawa is just 24 years old and has a rare disease that forces him to be on dialysis 12 hours a day.
"I want to live again. That will be really nice to just be whole again," Randhawa said.
When he was just 22, Randhawa went to have some routine bloodwork done. His results were off the charts and doctors immediately rushed him to the emergency room, diagnosing him with a rare form of kidney disease.
"It was like a silent killer. I never knew I had it until it was too late," he said.
Doctors say it could take six to 10 years to find a kidney donor. So, in the meantime, Randhawa spends 12 hours a day connected to dialysis machines.
"There are days when it hits you and you look at the machine and it's unreal, but we're thankful for modern medicine because it's keeping him going until he finds a donor," said his girlfriend, Catalina Di Somma.
Randhawa is expanding his search for a donor by making t-shirts, posting on social media, and creating hashtags.
"The kindness from people, whether they're able to donate to the Gofundme so we can do outreach, or just share their story, it really helps to keep us going in this difficult time," Di Somma said.
Their outreach is all in hopes that someone, somewhere, will hear Randhawa's story and be a match, giving him his life back.
"I want to do all those little things that a normal person doesn't appreciate that they do. Like, there are so many beautiful places around here but because of my condition, I can't go. I can't travel," Randhawa said.
There's one specific thing that's on the top of his list.
"I'm going to marry my girlfriend. That's the first thing I'm going to do," he said.
All blood types can apply to donate to Randhawa, but blood types O and B are highly recommended.
If you're interested in applying to donate, click here. You can follow his journey on Instagram @KidneyForKabir
