USA: A beloved mechanical engineering professor at Texas Tech named John is fighting to reclaim his life through a kidney transplant after decades of silent struggle. Once tireless in classrooms and on a YouTube channel watched by millions, he has lived with kidney disease since 1990. In the last year his kidneys began to decline, robbing him of energy, leaving his feet numb and making every step painful.
Doctors told him a major surgery, a transplantation that could save his life, was the only clear option. The idea of asking someone else to give a part of their body terrified him. He worried about the sacrifice and the logistics and admitted the thought of a donor offering a kidney scared him. Still, he recognized that a kidney transplant was his path back to health and to the classroom.
With that fear met by fierce support, his sister launched a social media plea that exploded across networks. Over 50 people, former students, family members, old friends and even strangers, stepped forward and volunteered to be tested as live kidney donors. More than 23 have already cleared initial screening, and staff at Baylor Scott and White in Fort Worth said they had never seen so many people sign up for one patient. The response left him humbled and emotional.
He is now confident a match will emerge; he hopes to undergo transplant over the Christmas break and return to teaching in the spring. He speaks of humility and a desire to keep mentoring engineers, tutoring students at his kitchen table, and continuing the YouTube lessons that reach audiences worldwide. Medical teams are moving him through the evaluation process, and the 23 potential donors who passed the first phase give him a fighting chance at a second life via kidney transplantation and hope.
