Melissa is awaiting a second kidney transplant

Mary Clynes with her daughter, Melissa, 19, Jan. 12, after Melissa came home from dialysis treatment. Melissa is awaiting a second kidney transplant. As an infant she had a heart transplant, and three years ago she received a kidney from her mother, but the kidney was destroyed by a virus.

Melissa Clynes wants to be like other college students, with the regular challenges and experiences they have. She's on the shy side too, and she prefers to avoid extra attention.

But Melissa's photo is on a flyer posted on public bulletin boards with the headline: "While you're trying to decide if you're going to help ... Melissa's hope of living slowly fades."

The flyer is seeking donors to come forward to help Melissa with a donated kidney. It notes that Melissa "has lived all of her 19 years with extreme physical challenges, yet there has always been someone who has been placed in her life at the right time to allow her to pursue the life God has planned for her." The flyer asks people to pray daily for Melissa, her family and for a donor to soon come forward.

"She thrives on normalcy," said her mother, Mary Clynes. "Right now she has no normalcy in her life because she's committed to going to the hospital three times a week and being hooked up to a machine. And when she gets out of the dialysis she doesn't feel that good."

Mary Clynes noted that her daughter is strong and hides her pain and suffering. She never puts herself first and would not ask the community to think about her.

But Mary and Mike Clynes, members of Sacred Heart Parish in Florissant, felt a need to do more than just wait for a kidney to become available. "The sobering fact is that any one of us could need a new organ or tissue to save our lives -- and virtually every one of us could be a donor," Mary noted.

Melissa wants the same opportunity as anyone else -- to go away to college and experience college life, her mother said. Right now she is staying put because her home is close to her medical facilities.

"The donor shortage extremely exceeds the number of individuals waiting," Mary Clynes said. "A live kidney donation is a very minimal surgery for the donor. And it's a better option because you're able to set the surgery date and has a larger survival rate (for the recipient)."

Mary Clynes noted that her daughter is strong and hides her pain and suffering. She never puts herself first and would not ask the community to think about her.

Please take just 2 minutes to learn more about Mellissa. Click here: http://bit.ly/melissaclines