Roku TV story helps Saginaw father find kidney donor

Jesse Ramos of Saginaw is scheduled for a kidney transplant Oct. 21 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit after a viewer saw his story on Kidneys for Kids’ Roku TV network and stepped forward as a living donor. The case shows how one shared story can move someone from the waitlist to surgery.

Why it matters: - Kidney transplant candidates often depend on living donors to get off the waitlist faster. - Kidneys for Kids says Ramos’s case shows how broadcast storytelling and social sharing can connect a patient with a donor. - The organization cites about 96,000 Americans waiting for a kidney transplant, including about 2,000 children. - The organization says 13 people die each day while waiting.

What happened: - Jesse Ramos, a Saginaw father, found a living kidney donor after his story aired on Kidneys for Kids’ Good Karma Entertainment Network Roku TV channel. - A viewer saw the story on social media, began the donor screening process and matched with Ramos. - Ramos is scheduled for transplant surgery on Oct. 21 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. - Ramos’s daughter, Alena Rose Severson, wrote to the organization that the interview helped someone see the story and begin the donation process.

The details: - Kidneys for Kids records and broadcasts stories of children and adults waiting for a living kidney donor. - The organization pushes those stories across its television network, social channels and website. - Brian Martindale, founder and executive director of Kidneys for Kids, said the group believes it is the only kidney organization in the country finding donors this way. - Martindale is a living kidney donor who donated in 2013 to 10-year-old Jessica Schwerin. - Kidneys for Kids is based in Bay City, Michigan, and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. - The group holds the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, has been a voting member of the OPTN since 2024 and is a partner of the National Kidney Registry. - Its programs include Drive to 7000, the Human Angels program and annual summer Driving for Life trips. - The organization said its documentary, The Darker the Night, will premiere March 11, 2027, in theaters and later on Amazon Prime Video. - Ramos, Severson and Martindale are available for interviews. - Video from the original interview is included in the release.

Between the lines: - Kidneys for Kids is making a case that media distribution is part of donor recruitment, not just awareness. - The Ramos result gives the organization a concrete example to point to as it argues that one share can lead to a transplant match. - The release frames living donation as the fastest path off the kidney waitlist, but the outcome still depends on screening, matching and surgery.

What's next: - Ramos’s transplant is set for Oct. 21. - Kidneys for Kids says it will keep using its Roku channel, social platforms and website to share more waitlist stories. - The organization is directing people to kidneysforkids.org to learn more or register for living-donor screening.

The bottom line: - A single shared story helped turn a kidney waitlist search into a scheduled transplant.