She couldn’t find a kidney donor. That changed after she found a blank billboard

Roxanne Loomis found out her kidneys were failing.

The Eugene, Oregon woman had undergone blood work for an unrelated surgery in 2004 and discovered that her kidneys were functioning at less than half of their ability, the Register-Guard reported.

Loomis, 64, then reached out to family, friends and other people she knew to find a live donor, the newspaper reported. About 30 people offered, but they were all disqualified during testing, the Register-Guard said.

She started searching for a blank billboard after her doctor told her one of his patients used one to find a donor, the newspaper reported.

“My kidney doctor said, ‘Gee, you should get a billboard,’ and I thought I've never seen a vacant billboard, not in this town,” Loomis told KMTR-TV.

But Loomis was in luck. She not only found a vacant billboard, but the company rented it to her at a discount on Interstate 5 in Eugene, Oregon, the newspaper said.

Loomis put up a picture of herself with the words “Need: kidney donor for Eugene RN,” the Register-Guard reported.

The billboard photo was taken inside Peach Health Sacred Heart Medical Center, where Loomis used to work as an emergency room nurse for more than 20 years, KMTR said.

Her friend, Downie, who took the photo, told the news station she hopes somebody will “see the message and go: Yes!”

A year later, someone did, KATU-TV reported.

The news station reported that Loomis has received a new kidney.

Loomis told the Register-Guard she wants to live long enough to see her children, a 30-year-old son and a 29-year-old daughter, get married and have kids.

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 5:26 PM with the headline "She couldn’t find a kidney donor. That changed after she found a blank billboard."