You can help share Diane's story by pasting this letter into your e-mail and forwarding it to your friends and loved ones.

Dear Friend,

You or someone you know has the power to save a life. No, this is not a gimmick to give money. It is a call for help to spread the word for a friend, Diane Glass, who is in desperate need of a kidney donor. What Diane needs more than anything is an act of generosity and courage from a person who may not even know her.
You see, Diane suffers from Hereditary Nephritis, a very rare inherited disease that affects the kidneys. This disease also took the life of her brother, Jack, at age 57. Diane has learned that without a kidney transplant by mid April, she too, will likely be met with the same fate.

Diane is a giver. She is a wife, a mother, a grandmother and daughter to her own 88-year-old mother, Ruth, who she visits regularly in Alabama. Unfortunately, Diane has a small immediate family and her only child, son Kel, can’t qualify as a donor because he too has the genetic risk of developing Hereditary Nephritis. And Diane’s husband is not a match – she needs an O+ or O- blood type and he is A-.

Diane and her husband Rog proudly worked to put their son through college and medical school, and she donates as well as volunteers with whatever time she has leftover to causes including the Special Olympics, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and numerous other animal related causes, such as Canine Companions, ASPCA and MSPCA. Diane’s love of people is contagious to everyone around her. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Diane jumped at the opportunity to help, by organizing a fundraiser for the Red Cross with her colleagues. She makes people smile. She is kind and gentle and looks forward to many more years enjoying her favorite things in life like spending time with her 2 ½ year-old granddaughter, Sophie.

Maybe you or your own mother, child, sibling or grandparent has been given a second chance at life due to the brave generosity of another person or total stranger. Certainly a kidney donation is no small task. A blood test must first be conducted to determine eligibility. Diane requires O+ or O-. Then a more complete physical would be required to assess overall health. If you or someone you know would like to be tested, please e-mail Diane at diane@kidneydonor4diane.com. More specific information about Diane and about transplant surgery is available at: www.kidneydonor4diane.com.

Please, forward this to anyone and everyone you know. Time is running out for Diane, so let’s all do what we can to help. Someday, hopefully, you too will benefit from a random act of kindness from a stranger.