Clayton, Mo., man takes out ad to find a kidney donor

ST. LOUIS -- Desperate to avoid languishing on a transplant waiting list with 53,000 other people, 46-year-old Robert Kornblum has gone to the marketplace in search of a kidney.

The Clayton, Mo., man spent $128 to run a classified ad twice in a weekly newspaper: "If you would be willing to donate a LIFE SAVING KIDNEY, call me."

Kornblum has just one kidney, and it is working at only 1 percent to 3 percent of capacity and declining. Dialysis three times a week is keeping him alive.

"I feel like I'm slowly dying," said Kornblum, a father of two who until recently owned a real estate and investment business in Clayton.

Both of his kidneys shut down about five years ago, slowly destroyed by the hereditary condition polycystic kidney disease. A kidney donated by his then-wife was transplanted in 1997, but he has since developed a condition that has left his transplanted kidney inflamed and scarred.

Kornblum doesn't know anyone who's willing and able to give an organ for a second transplant. His only sibling, a sister, declined to donate, and other relatives are unable, he said.

In June, Kornblum was placed on a transplant list. Doctors told him his wait would be two to three years.

And so he turned to classified advertising.

Before the St. Louis Jewish Light would publish his ad, Kornblum was required to provide a letter from a doctor confirming his condition.

"Once we were satisfied there was a legitimate medical need, we authorized publication of the advertisement," said Bob Cohn, publisher and editor-in-chief. "We have received no negative comments at all."

Kornblum said he sees nothing wrong with taking out an ad for a transplant.

"I like this direct approach," he said. "If I relied on others to move this process along, it could take years. I'd rather be proactive."

The average wait time in St. Louis for a kidney has doubled since 1998, said kidney specialist Dr. Brent Miller, one of Kornblum's physicians.

"People are desperate for kidneys -- and we understand that," Miller said.

Every year, about 3,000 Americans die waiting for a transplant.

As of Aug. 2, almost 53,000 people nationwide and about 600 in the St. Louis region were on waiting lists.

Kornblum is optimistic about finding an altruistic donor on his own. His ad was not meant "to knock the system," he said. "I just think the system needs a little push."