Linda Deming’s long quest to find a live kidney donor has ended with success.

On Tuesday, March 1, at 8 a.m. at Maine Medical Center, the Pownal woman will receive a kidney transplant, courtesy of Kenduskeag resident Amber McIntyre.

Deming said Monday that she heard in early February that doctors had identified two willing donors with the correct A positive blood type, then narrowed it down to one. Deming has been sending out kits to people who have contacted her through a media campaign, and getting responses from potential matches.

Deming, 66, has been living with stage 5 renal failure, and undergoing dialysis for more than a year.

“I’m excited and I’m scared,” Deming said. “They say I’ll be home March 6 with a functioning kidney.”

McIntyre, 37, a waitress in Bangor and mother of four, said she learned of Deming’s situation on Facebook.

“I was online and I saw it over my Facebook news feed,” she said Monday. “I’ve always given blood. I decided to get tested. I saw it and I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Deming, with the help of friend Deb Uecker, took her quest to the roadside last summer, placing signs outside her Brown Road home, and on Durham Road in Freeport. The signs read: “I need a new kidney” and “Before it’s too late,” and another gave her name and phone number. Her situation also was made known through Maine media outlets.

Once the donor was identified, Deming took some final medical tests to make sure she was ready for the procedure.

“That’s been done, so we’re good,” she said.

Deming said she has spoken to McIntyre on the phone, but hasn’t met her yet.

“I’m so grateful,” she said. “There are still thousands of people who need kidneys, and living donors are so much better that deceased ones.”

Linda Deming

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