Washington Woman Turns to Bus Ads to Find Husband a Kidney Donor

— -- A Washington woman whose husband has been waiting for a kidney donation for two years took the search into her own hands by placing an ad on public buses in the Seattle area.

Esther Smith says the idea popped into her head after she and her husband, 27-year old Emmett Smith, attended a hospital seminar where the instructor told them to be proactive in their search for a new kidney for Emmett.

“The instructor mentioned, ‘Don’t be ashamed to get the word out about Emmett needing a kidney,’” Esther, 30, told ABC News. “I started thinking of how I could reach the most people in the most creative way and the bus ad just popped into my mind.”

Esther, who has a 9-month-old daughter, Arianna, with Emmett, was motivated to try the out-of-the box approach in hopes of keeping her husband of eight years alive and healthy for years to come. The average wait on the kidney donor list is about five years, Emmett said.

Emmett, of Renton, Wash., was diagnosed in 2012 with IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease that has left both of his kidneys useless. For the past year, the salesman has undergone grueling, four-hour dialysis sessions three times per week that leave him feeling “horrible” and allow him to only work one day per week.

“It’s really harsh on my body and the longer I do dialysis the more of a toll it takes on my body,” said Emmett, who, as a type O blood type, can only accept the kidney of a type O donor.

Determined to help her husband, Esther Smith reached out to transit officials in King County about one month ago. Officials directed her to Titan, the agency responsible for the ads on King County Metro buses. She worked with the company to create the ad, which features a photo of Emmett holding his daughter.

“My daddy needs a kidney,” the ad reads. The couple also included their website address, Donate4Emmett.org, and 206-598-3627, the phone number for the University of Washington Organ Donation Program, where people can go to get tested.

Titan decided to add more buses to the Smith’s original ad buy, bringing the total number of buses in the Seattle-King County metro area with Emmett’s ad on them to 20. The ads debuted last week and will run for a total of four weeks, according to Esther.

The total cost for ads, including the donation from Titan, is around $8,000, according to ABC affiliate KOMO, which first reported the story. The Smiths declined to comment to ABC News on the ads' costs.

“The response has been amazing,” Esther said. “It’s really touching how many people have emailed me...some who have been in the same position as us and others who say they are going to call and get tested.”

If Emmett finds a donor, the Smiths say they will not know whether he or she came from the bus advertisement because the organ donation information is kept confidential. Only if the donor decides to come forward or release the information will they know if the ads worked.

“Out of all the people, she has been the driving force to find me a kidney and if anyone can do it I know she can,” Emmett said of his wife.

“And even if I don’t get a kidney from all of this, if it brings awareness and if someone else gets a kidney from this, that makes it worthwhile,” he said.