Searching for a life-saving kidney -- and finding the kindness of strangers

(CBS News) ANDERSON, S.C. -- Larry Swilling and his wife Jimmie Sue have been happily married 57 years. So happily, in fact, that Larry has now come to realize the downside of loving someone so much you can't live without them.

You can't live without them.

Larry Swilling and his wife Jimmie Sue. Jimmie Sue needs a kidney donor and no one in the family is a suitable match, so Larry has taken to the streets to try to find one.

/ CBS

"She's my heart," he said.

Heart has never been an issue for these two.

What's always been lacking is a kidney. Jimmie Sue was born with only one, and now that one is shot. She needs a transplant -- but neither her husband, nor anyone tested in her family, is a suitable match.

Jimmie Sue is on a donor list, but the wait is about two or three years long and that's for a kidney from a deceased donor. Transplant patients who get their kidneys from living donors tend to live longer.

Which is why Larry decided to try a completely radical approach to securing a kidney: asking for it, from total strangers.

"I don't care what people think," Larry said. He tells his wife, "I'm going to get you a kidney."

Never mind that most people won't give panhandlers their pocket change, let alone their vital organs. A few months ago, Larry, at 77, has been walking all over his hometown of Anderson, S.C. -- and the surrounding towns -- basically begging for a kidney.

Larry Swilling hopes to find an organ donor for his wife by asking passersby to donate their kidneys.

/ CBS News

And on out on the street, wearing a signboard -- "Need kidney 4 wife" -- he's not shy in asking passersby: "I sure could use your kidney."

He didn't really think it would work. But, he said, "I'm trying. I had to do something."

It was really just a way to not feel helpless, which is why he was as surprised as anyone when the phone rang -- rang repeatedly.

"I'm willing to donate a kidney for your wife," one caller said on voicemail.

"We'd love to find out how to be tested," said another.

Hundreds of people who either saw his sign -- or heard about it -- volunteered. As one volunteer put it, "I've got two, and I only need one."

So far there has been no match, but at this point he's almost certainly recruited enough volunteers -- and raised enough awareness -- to save someone.

That's fine by Jimmie Sue.

"If I get a kidney, fine. If I don't, I hope someone else does," she said.

But it's not good enough for Larry.

And that's why Larry is still looking, still appealing to the kindness of strangers -- for the love of his life.

Donations to the Larry Swilling Fund can be sent to Larry Swilling Fund c/o Journey to Destiny, 210 S. McDuffie Street, Anderson, SC 29621.

If you are interested in learning more about being an organ donor for Mrs. Swilling or for the nearly 100,000 other people who are waiting for a new kidney, please contact the Medical University of South Carolina Transplant Center: 1-800-277-8687.

To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.

[JohnBaugues]

I get it, what a great story!
John Baugues

[ru4sun2]

I found out my cousin's husband needed a kidney via a post his daughter put up on Facebook. After almost 14 months of testing, I was determined to be a match and was able to donate my kidney to him on March 29, 2012. The best thing I've ever done.

[Drs1791]

I definitely understand what Jimmie Sue is going through; I am undergoing the same thing. Except I'm not on the list yet because my platelets are down.

[mylomas]

how do I find out if I am a kidney match?