Pasadena Woman's Search for Kidney Donor Goes Viral

There has still been no donor match for Jenna Franks.

A Pasadena woman has been searching for three years with no luck in finding a kidney donor, but after a simple idea - painting a sign on the family car - her search has gone viral.

Jenna Franks’ family painted a sign reading, "Daughter needs kidney type O" along with her email address, which started gaining traction on social media.

KNBC4 interviewed Franks two years ago. As of Wednesday, the Southern California woman has not found a match.

Franks was diagnosed when she was 14 years old with kidney failure. She's 29 now and uses dialysis daily.

"My life pretty much revolves around my illness," Franks said.

After Franks' mother suggested they paint a sign on the car, Franks said she didn't think anything would come of it.

Tatum Bateman saw the sign painted on the family car and tweeted it. 

"This honestly needs to go viral!" the message said. 

After the tweet was posted, Karol Franks, Jenna's mother, was shocked at what happened. 

"My phone kept going - bing! Bing! Bing!" Karla said. 

The tweet started getting noticed.

"I posted the picture and it got like 8,000 retweets!" Bateman, who posted the photo, said. 

Almost 7,000 views later, 25 people have stepped forward willing to be tested to see if they are a donor match. 

"It just feels like it's meant to be," Jenna said. "There is something really powerful here."

To help, contact the family at: Kidney4Jenna@gmail.com.
 

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