Metro Vancouver man gets creative in search for organ donor

VANCOUVER (CityNews) — “I need a kidney, blood type O positive,” that’s the message written in big block letters on the rear window of a Vancouver man’s car.

Ronald Mamaril lives in Metro Vancouver with his wife and three children. The family enjoys taking bikes rides together on weekends. He’s a local roofer, and is busy working six days a week on some of the city’s biggest projects. He’s also increasingly in need of an organ transplant.

“Until now it’s been about two years of this, working full time, then dialysis after work. Thank God I can still manage this but it’s hard because I get tired,” he tells CityNews.

Now Ronald is trying something new to try and find a match. He taking to the streets — literally — with his plea for a new kidney, along with his blood type and contact information.

He says he got the idea from social media about three months ago, and figures there’s no harm in giving it a try while he finds himself on a lengthy waitlist. He even had a little help from a friend who made the decals for Ronald at no cost.

“It’s very special and I’m very thankful,” he says.

He says he’s grateful for having a supportive employer and for all the good Samaritans in the community who have called him. So far, he hasn’t found a match, but he’s hopeful.

BC Transplant tells us they do encourage people to reach out to potential donors in whatever way they are comfortable with. In 2020 there were 280 kidney transplants in the province.