Glenn Calderbank, a contractor, was searching for materials on Craigslist for a construction project when he saw the ad by someone who's asking for a donor to save his wife's life. Calderbank was moved by the ad because he lost his wife four years ago to kidney failure.
“It was like the screen was talking to me,” Calderbank said. “I knew I was going to be a match for her. I thought about it, then I emailed them and shared my story.”
Glenn responded to the ad and he was a perfect match for Nina Saria, who has been on the donor list for more than a year and suffers kidney failure because of an autoimmune disease, arising from an abnormal immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body.
It was unfortunate, that the 49-year-old contractor wasn’t a kidney match for his wife of 10 years. So instead, Jessica had to receive a kidney and pancreas from a cadaver then, however, complications followed.
His wife, Jessica died during dialysis before the rejected organs could be removed.
Calderbank is preparing for surgery on December 1. The two, who were formerly strangers from Craiglist have now become friends.
Craiglist is a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, services. It is also a foundation for the fiscal sponsor of "Our Good Works" the organization that manages AllforGood.org.
Nina Saria and her husband said there were many offers from friends and relatives but didn’t work out because their organs weren’t compatible with hers.
“I’m scared to death,” Calderbank said of the surgery next month. “I’ve never had any medical problems and I am, on purpose, going to have my body opened up and have a part taken out." But ever since his wife's death, he's wanted to help somebody.
Glenn Calderbank said he wants to save Saria’s life because “in this rare instance” he’s the only one who can do it.
