Tyler and Alicia Cox captured in a wedding photo from August 2022. Shortly after, Tyler discovered his only kidney was failing.Amber Ruscin
When Tyler Cox from Dover wed the love of his life, Alicia, in 2022, they dreamed of bonding over their shared interests in history, antique shopping, visiting museums and more. Unfortunately, shortly after their wedding, a medical issue arose that has since taken over their lives.
Cox was born with just one kidney, which has started to fail. Unable to continue his work as a mechanic, he now relies on a home dialysis machine four days a week for four hours each treatment, a process he began in August 2023.
“It was a bit frightening, but we managed to get through it,” Alicia Cox said.
Due to health complications, family members cannot serve as living kidney donors, but they refuse to give up on their son, brother and husband. They have distributed flyers, placed yard signs, added magnetic signs to their vehicles and sold “Share Your Spare” T-shirts to raise awareness, hoping to find that one person willing to restore Cox's life through the living kidney donor program.
The National Kidney Foundation said each year approximately 101,000 individuals require a kidney transplant, with only 17,000 actually receiving one.
The waiting period is challenging.
“He has been struggling with the side effects of home dialysis including low blood pressure, nausea, sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, dizziness and muscle weakness,” said Amanda Cox, his mother. “Tyler has also been managing low hemoglobin levels and receives shots to maintain those levels.”
Cox is currently on the kidney transplant list at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. A compatible donor would typically have type O blood, although this is not a strict requirement.
“If you don’t have type O blood, you can still donate as a paired donor. This means an incompatible donor and recipient can be matched with another incompatible pair for an exchange,” Amanda Cox said.
Living donors are generally between the age of 18 and 75 and in good health. Anyone interested in becoming a living donor can fill out a health questionnaire at www.osuwexmedlivingdonor.org; call 614-293-6724, option three, to speak with a coordinator; or email livingdonor@osumc.edu.
