“My Dad Found His Kidney Donor Because Someone Shared His Story”

After Jesse Ramos shared his story on Kidneys for Kids’ Roku TV network, a viewer became his living kidney donor. He’s scheduled for transplant on October 21.

BAY CITY MICHGAN, MI, UNITED STATES, October 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2026

Contact: Brian Martindale, Founder & Executive Director, Kidneys for Kids
brianmartindale@kidneysforkids.org | (989) 493-6111 | kidneysforkids.org

“My Dad Found His Kidney Donor Because Someone Shared His Story”
Saginaw Father Jesse Ramos Set for Transplant October 21 After His Story Aired on Kidneys for Kids’ Own Roku TV Network

BAY CITY, Mich. — Saginaw father Jesse Ramos’s search for a living kidney donor has ended. After his story aired on the Good Karma Entertainment Network — Kidneys for Kids’ own Roku TV channel — and was shared on their social media, a viewer stepped forward, began the donor screening process, and matched. Ramos is scheduled for transplant surgery on October 21 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Kidneys for Kids records and broadcasts the stories of children and adults waiting for a living kidney donor, then amplifies each story across its television network, social media, and website. In a message to the organization this week, Ramos’s daughter, Alena Rose Severson, wrote:–

“It is because of the interview we did with you that someone saw it on social media, and then started the process to donate to my Dad. I am so grateful that you gave my Dad the opportunity to share his story and make this possible.”

Ramos and Severson have consented to the use of the message, and Ramos, Severson, and Kidneys for Kids founder Brian Martindale are available for interviews. Video from the original interview is included.

“This is exactly why we built our own network,” said Brian Martindale, founder of Kidneys for Kids and himself a living kidney donor. “We believe Kidneys for Kids is the only kidney organization in the country finding donors this way — our own TV channel, our social channels, and our website all carrying one person’s story until the right donor sees it. Plus or annual summer ‘Driving for Life” nationwide trips. One share can save a life. It just did.”

Approximately 96,000 Americans are currently waiting for a kidney transplant, including about 2,000 children. Thirteen people die every day waiting. Living donation remains the fastest path off the list — and, as this family learned, it often starts with someone simply telling their story.

About Kidneys for Kids
Kidneys for Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Bay City, Michigan, founded by living kidney donor Brian Martindale, who donated his kidney in 2013 to 10-year-old Jessica Schwerin. The organization 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. Through its Drive to 7000 initiative, its Good Karma Entertainment Network on Roku, and its Human Angels program, Kidneys for Kids works to find living donors for children and adults on the transplant waitlist. Its documentary, The Darker the Night, premieres March 11, 2027, in theaters and then on Amazon Prime Video. Learn more or register for living-donor screening at kidneysforkids.org.

Brian Martindale
Kidneys for Kids
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Drive For Life- The Drive To 7000 Jesse Ramos Episode

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