Ellington man seeking kidney donor
Ellington native Mitchell Ference was diagnosed with urinary reflux disease at a young age.
The Ellington High School Class of 2004 graduate had been on dialysis for 10 years, before receiving a kidney donation five years ago, but that kidney is now failing and he is seeking a live donor.
His wife, Robyn Ruitto-Ference, has been working tirelessly to find him a donor, and has seen a great response from people trying to help in many different ways.
The couple started a Facebook page, Kidney for Mitch, and a GoFundMe account, which has received generous donations that were used for billboards, located near highways in the Hartford area, as well as online ads.
“Everyone has blown us away with their generosity,” Ruitto-Ference said. “Within a week, we raised about $3,000. It’s been an incredible journey with everyone sharing the Facebook group and the online posts.
Lamar advertising, Ruitto-Ference said, actually donated four billboards. Barrett Outdoor also donated one along I-95.
Approximately 20 people, Ruitto-Ference said, have reached out to show interest in kidney donation, and at least two have begun the testing process to see if they are a match.
“It’s really been the community rallying around us. We’re just along for the ride, and really, really grateful,” Ruitto-Ference said, adding that finding a living donor is important, in order to avoid the sometimes years long transplant list, getting Mitchell off of the three days a week dialysis, as well as protecting his longevity.
“He’s had more surgeries than anyone can count, starting when he was nine months old,” Ruitto-Ference said. “By the time he was 19, both of his kidneys had failed completely. Dialysis can keep him alive, but the way it was explained to me, the longer someone is on dialysis, the shorter their life expectancy is. It’s like taking years from the end of their life to try to keep them alive now. So, we’re trying to get him off of dialysis as soon as possible.”
Ruitto-Ference added that the effort is also about awareness of the living donor program.
“Obviously, our main goal is finding Mitch his living donor, but we hoping that it inspire other people, as well,” she said.
People interested in testing to see if they can be a donor at https://hartfordhospital.org/services/transplant-services/departments-services/living-donation or contact the Ferences at kidney4mitch@gmail.com or 860-692-8747.
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