Single Father Uses Unique Method In Effort To Get Kidney Transplant

By Greg Argos

NEW CASTLE, De. (CBS) -- A Delaware man is in the fight of his life.

He's using an unusual method to find the kidney he so desperately needs. Below the IBEW Local 313 sign in New Castle, sits a plea from a father of three.

"I have a hereditary genetic disease called polycystic kidney disease," said Dave Amalfitano. He has dealt with this disease his whole life. "It's basically where thousands of cysts grown on my kidneys and just deteriorates them."

Amalfitano is waiting for a donor. "I've already had like six people try."

Amalfitano is a single father of three and calls them his "happy handful." He knew he had to get creative. "It doesn't hurt to ask."

"Right now there's about almost 5,000 people, in our region alone, waiting for a kidney and the wait can be four to five years," said President & CEO Howard Nathan of the Gift of Life Donor Program. That's why Nathan says it's so important to register as an organ donor.

"April is donate life month," Nathan said. "What we try to do is get people to be more aware about the need for organ and tissue donation. 21 people die in this country everyday waiting for an organ transplant."

He wishes those in need didn't have to ask for help themselves. "More people have taken to social media to try to get attention for their need." Nathan knows that sometimes that can lead to a perfect match for a patient like Amalfitano without many other options.

"I still got to be around a while for these kids," Amalfitano explained. "I'm 46. I got a lot of life to live."