When Park City Fire District engineer Henry Evans learned his cousin was in need of a kidney, he knew immediately he would volunteer to donate one of his own. That cousin had been in renal failure for some time, and when they became a candidate for donation last summer, Evans went straight to get tested for compatibility.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
“Turns out I’m AB, which is the rarest blood type,” Evans said. “I can only donate to other ABs but I can receive from any other blood type. It’s the selfish blood.” Evans said the news was deflating because he assumed he would be able to start the donation process right away.
While Evans was unable to help his cousin, the idea of donating a kidney stayed with him. “I was originally inspired to be a donor by my amazing wife who donated a kidney to her aunt,” he said. “Watching her and her aunt go through the process kind of cemented in my mind that if the opportunity ever arose I would not hesitate to be a donor.”