RIVERVIEW, Fla — Not many people can say they had their dream car at 20 years old.
But Randall Smith, the proud owner of a 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Dale Earnhardt, can.
"This is 'Black Steel," he said, "Honestly, this is honestly one of my dream cars. My cousin had one."
With one big dream accomplished, he's hoping the community can help him achieve another one.
His mom, Rita, said a dentist appointment five years ago revealed that his kidneys were failing.
"And the nurse was like 'turns out his blood pressure won't go down,'" she said, "And they ran tests."
In the time since then, Rita said Randall was put on the donor list as a pediatric patient, and he was moving closer to the top. But in the last year, as he's gotten older and his kidney function worsened, Randall has now had to move to the adult donor list—putting them back at square one.
"Kidney donations, especially for African Americans, is hard to come by. And so even if it doesn't benefit him, it may benefit someone else so we ask that [you] at least go and get tested [to be a donor]," said Rita.
More specifically, Rita said they need a donor who is O-positive. As they wait, she said she's trusting in Randall's resiliency.
"He's always been a fighter from day one, coming here at two pounds and five ounces," she said.
And Randall? He's going to keep focusing on school, work, and "Black steel."
"She's kind of my baby. I go everywhere with her," he said.
According to the group Donate Life, while it is possible to get an organ match from someone of a different ethnic background, there is a higher success rate if they are from the same ethnic background.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that as of 2020, 30% of those waiting for an organ donor were Black, but less than 15% of donors that year came from the same ethnic background.
For more information on donations for Randall's case, you can call The Living Kidney Donor Program at Tampa General Hospital at 813-844-5669.
To learn more about organ donation in general, you can visit Donate Life America.
