USA: In Houston a 57-year-old man, Tony Costello, is racing the clock for a kidney transplant after more than two years tethered to dialysis. A father of three and grandfather of ten, Costello marks birthdays now with a desperate wish for a living donor to step forward. His life has been narrowed to treatment days and uncertainty; missing dialysis even briefly would be fatal, and every passing week raises the stakes.
The human story is immediate and intimate. Costello is also a cancer survivor who endured a major health battle 15 years ago and now leans on a close, faith-driven family for strength. His wife, Theresa, once cleared in testing to give a kidney, ultimately could not proceed after crossmatch results ruled out compatibility. Other family and friends tried and proved incompatible as well, leaving the search for a donor beyond their circle.
At the center of this plea is the transplant itself: a living-donor kidney that could free Tony from dialysis and restore years with his children and grandchildren. Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston stands ready to evaluate potential donors and manage the transplantation process. Tony’s daughter created a QR code to help recruit strangers willing to be tested, pointing to the practical reality that a healthy person can live well with one kidney and that one match would change everything.
The family projects resilience, faith, and gratitude, describing daily prayers and the quiet heroism of hoping for a stranger to become a literal lifesaver. The medical team is prepared to move quickly for any suitable donor, and the appeal underscores how a single act of generosity in the form of a kidney transplant can rescue an entire family’s future.
