I Have Asked Some of the Most Powerful People in the World for Help…….Today I Am Asking for Something Much More Difficult Than Sympathy…..

An Open Letter From Rev. Dr. Steven Mills

There is something deeply unsettling about living in a world where a single social media post can reach millions of people in minutes, where technology can accomplish things that once seemed impossible, and where individuals have built extraordinary fortunes and influence by connecting the world—yet someone fighting for his life can still struggle to get one message in front of the right person. I have spent countless hours wondering how to communicate the seriousness of my circumstances without making anyone feel attacked, obligated, or uncomfortable. But somewhere along the way, I realized that protecting everyone else’s comfort cannot continue to be more important than speaking openly about what is happening to me.

I am a pastor. A broadcaster. A father. A two-time cancer survivor. I survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a bone marrow transplant, and colon cancer. Today, I am living with end-stage kidney failure, undergoing dialysis, and facing significant damage to my heart.

I am also extremely highly sensitized.

For those unfamiliar with transplantation, this means my immune system has developed antibodies that make finding a medically compatible kidney exceptionally difficult. Someone can be healthy, generous, willing to donate, and still not be compatible with me.

I don’t simply need someone willing to give.

I need someone medically compatible who is willing and able to give.

That distinction is the reason this search must reach so many people.

Millions have encountered my story. Thousands have contributed financially. Remarkable strangers have prayed, shared, encouraged, and stepped forward. Joshua Liljenquist and his team have opened doors I never could have opened alone. Radio hosts and television journalists have given me their time and their audiences.

I will never forget their kindness.

But despite all of that, I still haven’t found the one medically compatible living donor I desperately need.

And here is the part I have struggled to say.

I have publicly reached out to some of the most influential people on earth. I don’t know how many of those messages ever reached them. But I do know that a human life can become the subject of millions of impressions without reaching the one person who can change its outcome.

There is no social media dashboard that measures that kind of loneliness.

I’m not angry that people have busy lives, full inboxes, demanding schedules, or responsibilities I cannot begin to imagine. I understand all of that.

But I am frightened.

And I am tired of trying to find the perfect combination of words that might persuade someone that my life is worth a moment of their attention.

So today, I am changing the way I ask.

I am no longer issuing an open-ended challenge to the world. I am asking specific individuals for specific actions, with a clear opportunity to help.

Not a kidney.

Not a miracle.

Not a promise that I will survive.

Just an action that can be measured.

You have built an extraordinary community by reminding strangers that kindness still exists. I have watched what happens when a small moment of compassion becomes something powerful enough to move millions.

My request: Please record one 60-second video telling my story, share my new kidney campaign video with your audience, and keep the appeal visible for seven days. Ask five other creators to do the same.

You have demonstrated what kindness can accomplish. I’m asking you to help show what it can accomplish when the stakes are someone’s life.

Jimmy, you’ve demonstrated that an enormous audience can be mobilized for something beyond entertainment. You have helped transform generosity into extraordinary global projects.

My request: Please dedicate one 60-second video or Short to the search for my compatible kidney donor. Invite five creators to join you, and direct interested viewers to FindMyOne.org to learn about the medically supervised donor evaluation process.

I don’t need a prize. I don’t need a challenge involving money or spectacle.

I need people who have never heard my name to hear it.

Elon, you have helped bring ideas to life that once sounded impossible. You understand the power of engineering, technology, and mobilizing people around an ambitious goal.

My request: Please share my campaign video once on X, ask your audience to pass it along, and challenge five technology leaders to help it reach prospective living donors. I would also welcome a conversation with a qualified member of your technology team about ethical, privacy-respecting ways to expand donor awareness.

I’m not asking an algorithm to find a miracle.

I’m asking whether technology can help a human being find another human being.

Mark, Facebook and Instagram have connected people across generations, borders, backgrounds, and circumstances. I have spent my career learning how communication changes lives. You helped build tools that changed how the entire world communicates.

My request: Please share my campaign video on one of your public platforms, and ask Meta’s community or nonprofit partnerships team to consider helping us organize a seven-day, nationwide awareness effort directing potential donors to FindMyOne.org.

One public share. One team conversation. One measurable effort to reach people we haven’t reached.

That is the invitation.

Joe, your ability to make people sit down, listen, and think about something is extraordinary. You’ve helped bring complicated subjects into conversations that millions of people might otherwise never have.

My request: Give me ten minutes for a conversation about extreme sensitization, living kidney donation, and what happens when a person survives cancer twice only to face another life-threatening illness. If an interview isn’t possible, please consider a 60-second mention directing your audience to FindMyOne.org.

This isn’t about politics, controversy, or winning an argument.

It’s about whether one conversation can create an opportunity for someone to live.

You report on artificial intelligence, groundbreaking innovation, billion-dollar investments, and technologies promising to transform human life.

My request: Assign one reporter to examine how emerging technology, ethical donor outreach, and existing transplant systems might help extraordinarily sensitized patients find compatible donors. Interview transplant specialists. Investigate what is possible, what isn’t, and where innovation could responsibly make a difference.

Publish the story. Make it useful beyond my circumstances.

There are other people waiting for kidneys who deserve more than another headline about what technology might someday accomplish.

Each of you knows something about kidney transplantation that millions of other people will never fully understand.

Selena, your friend Francia Raisa donated a kidney to you.

Sarah, you have endured two kidney transplants and the emotional and physical challenges that came with them.

Alonzo, a transplant from your cousin gave you another opportunity to live, compete, and inspire.

You know what it means for the right person to enter someone’s life at the right time.

My request: Would each of you consider recording one brief message encouraging people to learn about living kidney donation, sharing my campaign video, and inviting three others to amplify the message?

I’m not asking you to compare your journey with mine.

I’m asking you to help others understand why finding a compatible donor matters.

And I want to acknowledge people who have faced the extraordinary challenges of sensitization and transplantation, including Christin Cerda, whose difficult journey to a second transplant was documented by the Miami Transplant Institute, and Dawn Dupree, whose transplant journey involved antibodies and specialized treatment at Houston Methodist.

Their experiences are reminders that complex cases deserve persistence, medical expertise, and hope.

I want to have the opportunity to tell a story of survival, too.

Oprah Winfrey. Tyler Perry. Dwayne Johnson. Ryan Trahan. Gary Vaynerchuk. The leadership of America’s major broadcast networks. National Kidney Foundation advocates. Pastors, journalists, musicians, athletes, business leaders, and everyday people.

This invitation is for you as well.

You don’t have to have millions of followers.

You don’t have to donate money.

You don’t have to agree with my faith, my politics, or anything else about me.

You only need to believe that a person fighting to stay alive deserves a meaningful chance to be heard.

Beginning today, October 24, and continuing through October 31, I am asking for measurable action.

ONE MILLION VOICES. ONE MISSION. FIND MY ONE.

My goals are simple:

• 100 creators, broadcasters, community leaders, and public figures publicly share my new campaign video or create their own.
• 1,000 churches, nonprofits, workplaces, and community organizations distribute the appeal to their communities.
• One million people participate by watching, sharing, talking about the campaign, or recording an “I’M ONE” message.
• Every medically eligible person who feels moved to explore living donation is directed to the actual transplant professionals who can answer questions and determine whether evaluation is appropriate.

I will publicly recognize organizations and individuals who choose to participate, with their permission.

This is not a demand for a transplant, and no one should ever feel pressured to donate an organ. That decision must be informed, voluntary, and made with qualified medical professionals.

But sharing information, offering an interview, making an introduction, or giving one minute of visibility?

Those are actions many of us can take.

Every dialysis treatment reminds me that my life is being sustained by machinery. Every medical complication reminds me how fragile this situation has become. And every day that passes without a compatible donor is another day that I must confront uncertainty about my future.

I am not writing this because I think famous people owe me their time.

I am writing because I have reached a point where I cannot afford to confuse politeness with progress.

A sympathetic comment is not a donor evaluation. A viral video is not a kidney. A million views are not a transplant.

But every one of those things can help move the search toward someone who may be compatible.

There are people living today because somebody answered a call for help. There are transplant recipients celebrating birthdays, attending weddings, working, raising families, and enjoying ordinary mornings because someone made an extraordinary decision.

And there are extremely sensitized patients still waiting, hoping that medicine, generosity, and the right circumstances will finally come together.

I am one of them.

I am not asking the world to guarantee my tomorrow.

I am asking the world to do something today.

If you are one of the people named in this letter, please consider accepting one specific request and letting us know how you can help.

If you are a journalist, ask for an interview.

If you are a creator, share the video.

If you are a transplant recipient, help educate others.

If you are a community leader, put this message in front of your community.

If you are considering living donation, contact the transplant professionals and ask questions.

If you can help financially, please know that the costs of continuing this fight remain significant.

And if all you have is an ordinary social media account with a handful of friends, please don’t underestimate what one share might accomplish.

Somewhere, there may be a person who has never heard my name, who could be medically compatible, and who might be willing to consider becoming a living donor.

I cannot reach that person alone.

And I will not apologize for continuing to try.

With respect, with urgency, and with everything I have left to give,

Rev. Dr. Steven Mills
Pastor | Broadcaster | Two-Time Cancer Survivor
President & Publisher, On The Dial

WATCH THE NEW CAMPAIGN VIDEO:
https://youtube.com/shorts/StcxTOQS0rs

LEARN ABOUT MY SEARCH:
https://FindMyOne.org

LIVING DONOR EVALUATION:
https://www.hcamidwest.com/patient-resources/living-donor-program

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-pastor-steven-fight-for-his-life-p74hx

LISTEN TO MY TJ SHOW INTERVIEW:
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-tj-show-107933196/episode/steven-mills-346784072/

WATCH THE KAKE-TV COVERAGE:
https://archive.joshliljenquist.com/media/watch/kake-news-josh-liljenquist-garden-city-kidney-donor/

WATCH JOSHUA LILJENQUIST’S ORIGINAL VIDEO:
https://www.lemon8-app.com/@joshlilj/7669122830998569486?region=us

For media inquiries and campaign participation:
steven@findmyone.org

ONE MILLION VOICES. ONE MISSION. FIND MY ONE.

DON’T LET IT STOP WITH YOU.

#FindMyOne #OneMillionVoices #DontLetItStopWithYou #LivingKidneyDonor #HelpSaveALife