Community Corner

Nesconset Man Seeks A Living Kidney Donor

Kevin Schnurr, 27, starts Facebook page to help find donors for himself and others.

You may not have met Nesconset resident Kevin Schnurr, but he needs a kidney, so "donate maybe?" 

Schnurr, 27, is searching for a living kidney donor after being diagnosed with Alport Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that results in kidney failure and hearing loss.  

He's started a Facebook page titled Find a Kidney for Kevin that puts a unique the catchy Carly Rae Jepsen song "Call Me Maybe?" that asks virtual strangers "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, I need a kidney, donate maybe?" His aim is to find potential donors and raise awareness for others like him. 

"I never had any symptoms my entire life until las summer," Schnurr said. 

The 2004 St. Anthony's graduate said he had just started working a full-time graphic designer job when he started feeling very tired despite getting a full night's rest. 

"
I knew something wrong but I thought it was being run down and stressed out from starting the new job," Schnurr said. 

When he awoke with ringing in his ears, Schnurr went to a doctor's appointment and was immediately rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital. After a battery of testing, including two kidney biopsies, catscans, and EKGs, he was diagnosed with Alport Syndrome. 

The genetic disease is estimated to effect only 1 in 5,000 people, according to the Alport Syndrome Foundation, and its severe symptoms of kidney failure and deafness more often occur in men than in women. 

Schnurr said his best guess is he received the traits from his mother, as his father shows no sign of the disease, which eliminates her as a possible donor. His father has had melanoma, a skin cancer, and cannot donate. 

Yet, Schnurr is an only child. Both of his parents are also only children, which left him with few family members to ask to serve as a kidney donor and have all been eliminated due to health issues. 

So for now, Schnurr undergoes at-home peritoneal dialysis, hooking himself to a life-saving machine for 10 hours each night. He follows a strict diet and takes 7 pills with every meal. 

He is listed on both the national donor registry and New York state's, but said he has started a personal search for a living donor with aid of Stony Brook Hospital coordinator, to find a better match. 

"I’m really healthy, outside of this situation. If I can get a living donor kidney, it could last me 20 years if not more," Schnurr said. 
 
The first step matching a potential kidney donor is to find someone willing with the same blood type O - which is the universal donor and in high demand. 

So he's begun reaching out through Facebook, social media and other ways to reach someone who might be willing to donate while raising awareness of the disease.

Schnurr organized a fundraiser this summer that raised $2,000 for the Alport Syndrome Foundation and participated in the New York City Kidney Walk on Nov. 10. 

Over the past few days, he's received a small group of willing donors who will go through the first round of screening at Stony Brook Hospital in the upcoming days. If, and only if they fail the screening, Schnurr said will Stony Brook will take another round but with such rigorous testing - he's not stopping his search yet.If you would be willing to donate, learn more about the medical requirements from Stony Brook Hospital by clicking here.  

Plus, Schnurr said if he finds a willing donor on the West Coast through Facebook, he's hoping to help two friends, Kyle and Chris who also need blood type-O kidney donors. 

To learn more about Kevin Schnurr, visit his Facebook page here. 


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