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My Life Depends On It: Retired Sheriff’s Deputy Needs Kidney Donor To Save His Life

Rudy Brown always knew he wanted to help people, and he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. And now he is humbly asking for help.

The retired Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy is pleading for a kidney — and there’s even a way for someone that isn’t a match to save his life.

Rudy joined the ECSO in December 1989 and spent 24 years on patrol in Escambia County. He retired due to his medical condition in 2013 and underwent a liver transplant in 2018.

“I pretty much bled out two times on the table,” he said. “It nearly killed me.”

The required anti-rejection medications caused his kidneys to fail just over year later. He’s in final stages of kidney failure and has been on the transplant list since October 2020, but so far, his number has not come up as he stays on dialysis.

A donor is the only option to keep him alive.

Rudy is hoping and praying for a kidney donation to save him. He is blood type 0, and anyone with the blood type can take a quick blood test locally to determine if they are a match.

A directed donation is when the donor names a specific person who will receive the kidney. It is the most common type of living donation. Directed donations are often between blood relatives, like parents, siblings, or children. They can also happen between people with close personal relationships, such as a spouse, friend, or coworker.

A non-directed donation is when a person donates anonymously to someone in need. They usually do not have any kind of relationship with the person who gets their donated kidney. It’s called a “good Samaritan” donation.

If someone turns out not to be a good match, another option is a “paired exchange.” A paired exchange involves two pairs of living donors and their recipients. The two recipients “swap” donors so that each receives a kidney from the other person’s donor.

“They can donate a kidney in my name, and it would me to the top of the list for a compatible donation,” he said. “They get to save two lives — the person that received their kidney and mind because I would receive one that works for me.”

Rudy is on the donor list through the Tampa General Hospital program, one of the top two programs in the nation. Call (813) 844-7137 or (800) 505-7769 and ask for the kidney donation program.

The entire process is at no cost to the donor or potential donor…it’s covered by Rudy’s insurance.

“I really, really need someone to help me. My life depends on it,” Rudy said.