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Georgia man steps forward to give friend a kidney
After four-years an Atlanta man received a surprise gift of a kidney from friend.
ATLANTA - Troy Cost's life unraveled quickly four years ago, when the now 26-year old was told his kidneys were failing. He was diagnosed with FSGS, or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a disease that causes permanent scarring in the kidney and is a leading cause of kidney failure in the United States.
26-year old Troy Cost of Atlanta received a new kidney November 21, 2019. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
Cost found himself sleeping every night hooked up to a dialysis machine, placed on a waiting list for a transplant.
At 22, his life was suddenly on hold. He created a website and began posting on social media, searching for a stranger who might be willing to donate a kidney to him.
"Then, time just kept moving on," Cost says. "It was, like, one year, two years, three years."
Reeshard Scott, who had met Cost a few years earlier on a video shoot, was following his friend's search social media.
"I was thinking, 'Somebody is his family will help, somebody in his close circle will be able to help,'" Scott says. "As time went on, no one was able to be a match."
Cost tried to stay positive.
After watching his friend Troy Cost search in vain for a living kidney donor, Reeshard Scott realized he may be the lifeline Cost desperately needed. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"I just kept saying to myself, I have to get a kidney before 2020, I have to get a kidney," Cost says. "I just kept speaking it into existence."
Then, last fall, while both men were watching a game on TV, Scott noticed a tweet from Cost.
"I was following him on Twitter, and he made comment, and it resonated with me," Scott says.
"He said, I know everyone is wrapped up in this game, but I need a kidney. I need a kidney."
That's when Scott says it hit him that he may be the "someone" Cost needed.
After clearing it with his wife, Scott secretly began testing at the Piedmont Transplant Center to find out if he was a match for Cost, and whether he was healthy enough to live on one kidney.
Reeshard Scott donated a kidney to his friend on November 21, 2019 at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
The two hadn't seen each other for about six months.
In early November, Scott asked Troy to meet him for lunch.
"I came in, and I sat down, and we just started having a casual conversation," Scott says.
Cost noticed his friend was wearing a hospital wristband.
"I said, 'Hey, are you good? You need anything? You went to the hospital," Cost remembers. "He was, like, 'No, I'm good.'"
Scott says he reached into his bag, like he was pulling out his computer.
"But, actually, I was pulling out the paperwork, showing that I am a match, andI am a living donor for you, and I'm donating my kidney."
Cost was stunned.
"It was unbelievable," he says. "I believed him, but I was just, like, 'You sure?'"
Scott was.
On November 21, 2019, at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Scott was rolled into surgery just after dawn. Then, it was Cost's turn.
Dr. Emmanuel Minja was his transplant surgeon.
Dr. Emmanuel Minja is a transplant surgeon at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"And the moment Troy got that kidney, that kidney was working immediately," Dr. Minja says.
His nights of dialysis were over. But, too often, Dr. Minja says, African Americans are reluctant to become organ donors.
"There has been a lot mistrust in the system," he says. "And people's fears are real. You cannot take them for granted."
According to the National Kidney Foundation, African Americans are 3 to 4 times more likely to suffer from kidney failure than Caucasians.
Nearly 32 percent of people on the 94,000 Americans on the national waiting list for a donor kidney are black.
But, in 2019, only 14 percent of deceased donors, and just under 9 percent of living donors were African American.
Reeshard Scott says he understands the reluctance.
Reeshard Scott donated a kidney to Troy Cost at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital November 21, 2019. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
"There has been a lot of bad information shared over the years that gives people fear," Scott says. "So, they think, 'I'm not doing it. I'm not giving somebody my kidney for me to die.' I don't think people realize you can live a full, active, long life with one kidney."
Reeshard Scott hopes his story might change someone's mind about becoming a donor.
"I had to ask myself, if I can save someone's life, if I could make somebody else's life better, would I do it," Scott says. "And the question, without hesitation is yes, I would. And, I would encourage you to do the same."