They Wear My Shirts!

It’s Tuesday, February 2nd. Today is my second round with the gentlemen over at I Wear Your Shirt (.com). Last year, Jason Sadler wore a “ineedakidney.wordpress.com” t-shirt while he was in Times Square. You can see the video here. This year, Jason has added a second chest upon which I can spread the word about my blog, Evan White. Evan is here in California and Jason is a Florida resident. As an upgrade this year, Jason and Evan appear live on the web while wearing my shirts.

Sorry guys, I stole your image.

(editors note: The shirts that these guys wear are usually pretty well-designed, high-production-value endeavors. Now, as a graphic designer, my own bar is pretty high. So when you see my shirts tomorrow remember a few things: I work full time, I go to dialysis three times a week, I have a fiery 8-year-old and a growing 6-month-old, I take on way more than I can chew and I found out about my “IWYS” opportunity pretty last minute. So, yeah, I made the shirts myself. I bought iron-on transfers that work in my ink jet printer. I don’t iron often. Those transfers aren’t as easy to use as the box says. They twist and warp, and they have this backing that you have to take off that is, ugh, really hard to remove. Okay, that’s enough apology for something you probably wouldn’t have cared about anyway.)

The really cool thing about them being online is that you (yep, you) can converse with the guys. I hope to be there myself, though I happy to be double-booked tomorrow – I have an appointment with my transplant team to discuss some new options for transplants that come from people who do not share my blood type. Here’s where you can go to check them out:

Jason Sadler, the creator of IWYS, will be on live from noon-1:00 pm PST and Evan will follow him at 1:00 until 2:00. Here’s where you can find them: http://iwearyourshirt.com/videos. I am hoping to chat with them while they’re on through UStream.com.

And, look, here’s the hard sell. I am thrilled that you came to my blog. If Jason and Evan convinced you to visit, then I am thankful to them and to you both. If this is your first time here, there are some posts here that I would really like you to visit. There’s this one … and this one. When I started this process, as you’ll note from the web address itself, I was in the business of looking for a kidney for myself. Don’t get me wrong, I still want that. But I’ve come realize that more than one kidney transplant is what I need – it’s what we all need.

There is a shortage of transplants in our nation, and it’s pointless. I’ve done the math; it would take kidney donations from less than 1% of our nation’s population to give a transplant to each and every person on the waiting lists. I am not just a guy waiting for a transplant – I’m a guy caught up in a shortage. I’m a guy caught up in a system that doesn’t have what I need. At least not yet. So I’m asking you to change the system. I’m asking you, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, why not consider giving a kidney?