Bucks County Phillies fan uses billboard in hope of finding kidney donor
Bucks County Phillies fan in need of kidney aims high to find a donor
A Phillies fan from Bucks County is in desperate need of a kidney and is hoping to finally find the right donor.
What we know:
LANGHORNE, Pa. - AJ first went into kidney failure when he was two years old. He then went into kidney failure again in college in 2022. He is receiving dialysis but a kidney would better help him resume a normal life, he says.
What they're saying:
25-year-old AJ Tantala loves playing with his dog in the backyard of his Langhorne home in Bucks County. But his days of fully enjoying activities like this are limited.
He is often wiped out, dizzy and weak from dialysis four hours a day, three times a week.
"You're just sitting there for that time really. You try to sleep or play games on your phone," he said. He went into kidney failure for the first time at two years old and again at college age.
"I had to get a physical, so I got a blood test and they found out that my creatinine had spiked and I was in kidney failure and that was 2022," said AJ. Now three years later he remains in need of a kidney.
"Our hope had been to hopefully get a living donor prior to ever needing dialysis and that just unfortunately never panned out," said his mother, Penny Tantala. So, his dad came up with the idea of a billboard to get the word out. AJ is seen wearing his Phanatic-themed overalls on the billboard. The family is trying to reach a bigger audience and hopefully hit a homerun with a donor match by getting the attention of the fanbase of the hometown team they love. The Phillies.
"We have a lot of buzz around my story getting out. So, there's hope for the first time. In a little bit," he said. He enjoys going to games but mostly has to watch them from home now during the season. And that is not the only passion put on hold.
Big picture view:
AJ is at his best at center stage in theater but has not been able to perform since October of 2022 due to the toll kidney failure and dialysis have taken on him. And there is another love waiting to fully bloom. Thursday night he got engaged to his beautiful fiancé, who hopes a kidney transplant comes through so they can walk down the aisle in July of next year.
"Getting a kidney would kind of give him his life back. Give us a real start. A real future," said his fiancée, Colleen Thompson.
What you can do:
AJ has a website where you can get more information if you are interested in seeing if you are a match for a kidney donor. You can also follow his journey on the website, here.