21-Year-Old To Receive Kidney From Adoptive Brother

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - At the young age of 21, Ty Greenwood has done and seen more than many twice his age.

He's a junior at Washington & Jefferson College, an avid tennis player, and an apprentice at KDKA-TV for the last three years.

Even with a packed schedule, he found a way to give back.

"Recently, I traveled to San Francisco to teach seventh, eighth and ninth graders English and writing. That was for a couple of months during the summer and then I returned home for about five weeks, then I left for London to do my fall semester abroad," Greenwood said.

All this, after finding out last May that his kidneys are failing. He was born with kidneys smaller than they should be.

"I was going to live my life," Greenwood said.

Last May, his kidneys were functioning at only 10 percent.

"Now, it has decreased to about one percent so they are really not functioning at all."

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Ty is on dialysis three days a week, and what he needed was a donor.

He found one in his 31-year-old brother, Lance. He says the match is nothing short of a miracle.

"I am adopted, so we are not blood brothers. With this transplant, it will be as if we are, because of our blood matches," Greenwood said.

Even with hospital stays and days of not feeling well, Ty never missed a beat. Next month, he and his brother will undergo surgery at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.

"Ultimately, Ty is a young kid, he has a lot to do with his life and if I can assist him, I think that's a blessing," said Lance.

His parents, Rhonda Greenwood-Williams and Curtis Williams, say they have two sons to worry about, but they have faith.

"I just have faith that God will bring them both through and they will be okay, that's my prayer and I believe it will be okay," Rhonda said.

At some point, the family will have a fundraiser to help with the costs of medicines after the surgery. They estimate the first two weeks of post-surgical medicine will run more than $27,000.

To help Ty, click here.

"Ty still has a lot to give and the world should see it, it's as simple as that," his brother said.