Nova Scotia man used Kijiji to find kidney donor

Ken Wilkie recently posted an ad on Kijiji hoping to find a kidney donor.

A Cape Breton man with a genetic kidney disease recently turned to the online classified site Kijiji to try to find a donor, garnering 40 responses before his advertisement was taken down.

Ken Wilkie says that the idea to post an online ad came after the donor he had originally lined up wasn’t able to donate her kidney because she had developed cervical cancer.

“She was upset about not being able to donate. And I jokingly said to her ‘don’t worry, I’ll throw an ad on Kijiji. I’ll find a kidney somewhere.’ They say you can find anything on Kijiji,” Wilkie told CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald on Friday.

Wilkie suffers from polycystic kidney disease. Because it’s a genetic condition, family members are ruled out as potential donors.

Wilkie’s ad was titled “Boost your Karma,” and he described himself as a father of two who needs a kidney transplant to continue working as a corrections officer.

Wilkie says he got 40 replies to the ad. But on Friday, he says Kijiji took it down.

“Dear Kiji user. We have deleted one of your Kijiji ads for violating one or more site policies,” read a message Wilkie says he got from the company. “Kijiji is not an appropriate locale to advertise any human body parts or by products.”

Even if Wilkie was connected with a match, it’s unlikely he would’ve been able to use the kidney.

Nova Scotia allows for pre-planned organ donation from a live donor when the donor has a "close personal relationship" with the recipient, according to the province's Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act. And anonymous donors cannot specify who gets their donation. Anonymous donations go to where they’re needed most.

Wilkie says he’s still hopeful that he will find a donor.

“I think this is going to raise awareness about kidney and all organ donations,” he said.