Man gets lifesaving kidney at NFL game

An Indiana man gained a new lease on life after deciding to hold up a sign at an NFL game.

After learning that both of his kidneys had failed, Marcus Edwards, a husband and father of four, relied on dialysis for seven months to keep him alive.

All that would change, though, after he decided hold up a sign at a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field in 2019 which read, "I NEED A KIDNEY O POSITIVE."

Although he didn’t find a match right away, Edwards never lost hope.

"As long as I've got that dialysis machine and I've got my wife and kids, I'm going to be all right," Edwards said at the time.

But Jennifer Michel of New Albany saw the sign on TV and wanted to help. Soon after seeing Edwards’ request, she got tested to see if her kidney was a match. She was.

"The nurse said, 'You're a match.' I said, 'Like a real match?'"

Edwards and Michel met for the first time at the hospital in October 2021 – just two days after she gave him her kidney.

"There was a complete stranger 15 minutes from me that just saved my life," Edwards said. "It was incredible."

Edwards still has that sign that started it all.

At the time, his wife questioned his decision to hold it up, trying to get on TV. Now, they both credit the sign for starting a chain of events that led to his new kidney — and they consider Michel to be family.

"My uncles and aunts, they've contacted her," Edwards said. As a result, Michel has gained family herself.

Edwards, who once wondered if he'd be around to see his kids' milestones, now knows he'll be there and said Michel will be there, too.

"Boys graduating high school, she'll be there," Edwards said.