MSU student with kideny failure gets Gift of Life from neighbor he never met
MSU student gets Gift of Life from neighbor he never met
A few miles away in West Bloomfield, the mother of another MSU student saw one of the social media postings.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Michigan State University student has a second chance at life.
Liam Clegg thought he was sick with the flu but it proved to be much more serious. Thanks to a woman living nearby, who he had never met, Clegg has a new kidney and a life-saving gift.
Clegg is an advertising student but could never have known it would be his own story would put him in the spotlight to inspire others.
"I went to the ER first, and they ran the numbers probably three times because they didn't believe it. With the numbers I had, they said I shouldn’t be able to talk or walk," he said.
It was October of last year and Clegg thought it was the flu, but when he came home to Bloomfield Hills, he was hospitalized in ICU, he got devastating news.
"End stage renal disease - but the crazy part is, they don’t know why," he said. "This is one part of my story that I owe a lot to my parents, they were very proactive in starting the search and getting on social media."
A few miles away in West Bloomfield, the mother of another MSU student saw one of the social media postings.
"I was just on Facebook and I saw a post through the Michigan State parents group," said Michelle Doerr.
Doerr got screened to see if she could be his donor.
"It broke my heart so whatever I could do to help," she said.
Doerr found she was a match, and that she and Clegg have a lot in common.
FOX 2: "She’s basically your neighbor?"
"Yeah," he said.
And that’s not all.
"She’s the godmother of one of my really close friends," he added.
The transplant took place in February at Henry Ford Health and Clegg, who has taken time away from school to recover, says he feels stronger every day.
"I’m definitely in her debt and very grateful to her," he said.
"I would do this in a heartbeat again for Liam," she said.
According to Gift of Life Michigan, nearly 3,000 Michigan residents are in need of an organ transplant and 80 percent of those are in need of a kidney. Clegg hopes his story inspires others to become donors.
"You’re getting them back to a life that they want to live and a life that they can enjoy," he said. "Getting that back is priceless."
The Source: Information for this story came from Gift of Life, and interviews with Liam Clegg and Michelle Doerr.