CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A man in Cincinnati needs a kidney transplant. A man he met while on dialysis spends hours a week advertising his new friend to help find a donor.

Dave Harbison told FOX 19 on Friday that his illness is a major setback.

“I’ve never been the type of person to just sit back,” he said. “I was always on the move.”

He said that they started a campaign to find a donor to give him a kidney. Harbison put up lawn signs around town in hopes someone would help.

He also gets help from his friend Kenneth Johnson.

“Before Dave came along, the dialysis clinic was like a funeral home,” Johnson said. “I was already there and they made him sit next to me. We became friends in about ten minutes.”

Johnson spends time with various signs hanging from his shoulders to help publicize Harbison’s needs.

He explained that he also needed a kidney and finally got one.

“When I left the dialysis clinic, I missed my friend,” she said. “So I said, ‘I have to do something. I have to get him a kidney,’ and that’s why I’m here.”

Johnson said he now holds organ donors with the highest respect. They helped him get his life back.

He said he hopes Harbison can turn around, too.

Approximately 6,500 living organ transplants are performed each year, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. Even more patients are on the waiting list.

Information about organ donation can be found at HRSA Here.

Johnson continues to defend Dave with lawn signs and sandwich boards.

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