Husband Offers Strangers His Truck, Even a Kidney, to Help Save His Wife

A California man has offered up his truck, a trailer, and even a kidney in the hopes that someone would be able to save his wife’s life.

In a plea to Facebook users last week, Verlon Robinson offered to give up his 2004 Dodge pickup truck and a tent trailer to anyone who would be willing to donate a piece of their liver to his sick wife. In the post, he added a postscript and said he has “good kidneys” and would also be willing to “throw in one.”

Verlon Robinson, 55, has been married to Marie Robinson for 25 years, he told Fox News on Tuesday. About three years ago, Marie Robinson’s doctor noticed some spots on her chest. After some tests, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

Cirrhosis can occur when a liver is damaged, forming scar tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic.

But the more scar tissue that forms, the less functional a liver becomes.

Marie and Verlon Robinson often travel from their home in Sanger, California, to San Francisco — more than three hours away — for doctors’ appointments and tests. Marie Robinson, who is also diabetic and has recently lost about 70 pounds, is on a transplant list, but she isn’t yet high up enough to receive a liver from on organ donor who has died, her husband said.

And by the time she is high enough on that list, Verlon Robinson worries that she’ll be out of time.

So Verlon Robinson is taking matters into his own hands. He has asked that anyone who has O-positive or O-negative blood type to apply to the UCSF Medical Center to see if they could qualify to donate a piece of their liver to his wife. His insurance would cover the procedure, he said.

“I just love my wife. If I could take her place, I would,” Verlon Robinson told Fox News. “I believe God put her in my life and changed me and gave me a new heart for life.”

Verlon Robinson said he’s been fielding messages left and right ever since KMPH-TV picked up his Facebook post, and it began to go viral. Some people have applied to see if they can donate; others share messages of encouragement or advice. Many have said they would not take his truck if they are a match.

“It’s turned my life upside down,” he said of the support.

For now, Marie Robinson, 61, sleeps in a hospital bed in their home with her husband right beside her in a recliner. And despite her health battles, she’s still smiling, Verlon Robinson said.

“She wants to live, and I see her going through all this, and it breaks my heart,” he said.

Related: Liver Cancer Is Tough to Diagnose — Here’s Why

The UCSF Medical Center says a recipient can get a piece of a liver from a living donor because that organ is able to regenerate and grow. The center said livers can regenerate within eight weeks.

"Everything I've worked for all my life is not important to me. This is important to me, right here. I just couldn’t imagine life without her," said Verlon Robinson: https://t.co/8v2SXsbBtO

— WGXA (@WGXAnews) May 8, 2018

Acceptable donors must be between 18 and 55 years old and in good health (meaning not overweight), no psychiatric illnesses and no smoking habits, according to the medical center. The liver must also be a gift, not coerced.

The process to become a donor can take from four to six months, according to UCSF.

In April, the Robinsons celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. But if Marie Robinson can get a new liver — and Verlon Robinson keeps his truck — he plans to take his wife out to really celebrate.

This Fox News piece is used by permission.

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(photo credit, homepage image: Verlon Robinson)