A Hamilton woman uses billboards to help find a donor for her husband

Helio Silva was diagnosed with kidney disease 17 years ago. Now his kidneys are only functioning at 13% of their capacity.

He says his doctor tells him that he’ll need kidney dialysis within a year, unless he can get a new kidney.

His wife Patricia volunteered to donate her own, but she is an A blood type, Helio is an O.

So she’s working hard to find a kidney, even advertising on billboards. If you’ve driven around Hamilton and into Toronto, there’s a good chance you saw the billboards she had made.

While she’s not a match, Patricia is ready to give up her kidney to someone who needs one, who’s spouse is a match for Helio

The Silva’s are part of a the national kidney paired donation program that lines up potential recipients and donors. The program has been around for 9 years and so far hundreds of patients have had kidney transplants because of it.