TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa Bay area man will go into surgery next week at Tampa General Hospital to receive a kidney.
We introduced you to him and another man, Ramjee Vysyaraju, 8 months ago. Both came up with creative ways to grab the attention of people in the community, in hopes someone would donate.
Vysyaraju hasn’t been as fortunate. Tuesday, he re wrote a message on his cars back window asking for people with O+ blood type to contact him if they thought they could save his life.
He’s hoping this third time is a charm.
"Emotionally it’s very hard. There’s no doubt about it and if I say I’m fine that’s not true,” he said.
His wife and co-worker volunteered because they were a match, but the rigorous testing proved it was too risky for both of them based on their health.
"If somebody is trying to give you life, you want to make sure that you don’t do anything bad to their life,” he said.
Which is why he’s back to square one in search of someone to help. If anyone sympathizes, it’s Leo Cortes.
"I understand it’s it’s a lot to give and it’s hard but if you could you should,” said Cortes.
He will go into surgery next week after his cousin decided to donate one of his kidneys.
"He says he has two so why not give me one to save me,” Cortes said.
Vysyaraju says his health is rapidly declining.
"The readings almost doubled,” he said. "I’m at a point where I need to start my dialysis."
He says testing for a match and potential risks can take months so he hopes someone will reach out soon.
You can get in touch with Ramjee by calling him at (941) 704-5966 or on Facebook.
