SOUTH HADLEY — Red signs reading “seeking a kidney donor” in white capital letters decorate the lawns of many homes in Hampshire and Hampden counties. Below the call to action is a QR code, a phone number, a blood type and the name Eric.
The “Eric” referred to on these signs is Eric Haydocy, a lifelong South Hadley resident, a youth football coach, a musician and a single father who is living with kidney failure. Three times a week for the last 20 months, Haydocy has woken up at 4 a.m. to drive to a dialysis center where, for four-plus hours, he undergoes treatment that filters the waste and fluid from his blood.
“Dialysis is keeping me alive,” he says.
It normally takes between two and three years to find a kidney for his O+ blood type, but Haydocy figured he could do something — anything — to speed up the process. He started with distributing T-shirts, then lawn signs and truck magnets to advertise his need for a kidney. Fliers, signs and shirts traveled with his family and friends wherever they went, from youth football games to beach vacations to car shows.
Suddenly, Haydocy’s phone can’t stop ringing with calls from interested donors, transplant recipients and even former kidney donors. The response has grown beyond his imagination.
“To my surprise, I’ve gotten a lot people calling about it,” Haydocy said. “At a time when life is crazy, you don’t think there are people out there who care. It brought light to the world in my eye and my friends eyes to see all these people come together to try and help.”
Losing his filter
Haydocy, 50, was first diagnosed with kidney disease in his early 20s. For the last three decades, his doctors have closely monitored his kidney function as it steadily declined.
“It wasn’t like I woke up one day and said ‘oh, my kidneys had failed,'” he said. “I had hoped my kidneys would outlast the rest of my life, but that’s not how it went.”
His condition became significantly worse in 2019, when a burst polyp on his kidney caused bleeding around his organ. On Jan. 30, 2024, Haydocy’s kidney function had declined to where they could no longer filter his blood well enough to keep him alive.
An implant port in his chest and dialysis treatments have taken over the job of Haydocy’s kidneys. However, this is only a temporary solution. After a four-month stay in the hospital last year, Haydocy began the tests and doctor appointments needed to undergo a kidney transplant.
“I have a couple more doctors appointments, and if everything goes well with them, the board takes deliberation and looks at everything in file and says transplant is a go,” Haydocy said.
Now, he just needs to find a viable kidney.
Spreading the word
While waiting for the green light from his doctors, Haydocy and his close friend Chris Lavelle met over lunch to discuss ways to get the word out that Haydocy needed a kidney. They decided on T-shirts that included a QR code to Haydocy’s National Kidney Registry page.
“I wear the shirts and I go to all different car shows through the week all over the area. I hand out cards to people who walk by,” Lavelle said. “People approach me to see what they can do and how they can find out if they are an appropriate match.”
When the shirts did not sell too well, they made up lawn signs with the same information. Suddenly, those red signs began popping up in the yards of homeowners throughout Belchertown, South Hadley, Chicopee, Holyoke, Granby and Ludlow. Business owners also pitched in, hanging signs in their windows. And fellow football coaches at the South Hadley Youth Football Association wear the shirts and signs.
“When he got sick last year, he didn’t want people to feel bad for him. He kept going through everything, trying to get his son to sports and get to school,” said Evan Pronovost, head coach for the program’s seventh and eighth grade football team. “He rolls his scooter around the field, it’s inspiring to see him out there every night.”
Then, the calls came flooding in. Calls from interested donors who wanted to know if age impacted their viability. Calls from previous donors who offered resources and support to interested donors. Calls from previous transplant recipients providing answers to any questions Haydocy might have.
“It’s amazing that there’s so many people out there that are willing to help,” Haydocy said. “Down the road, when this is all done, I could see myself being an advocate or helping people going through the same thing to know that there’s definitely hope and people out there that care.”
For Haydocy’s brother, Kevin, the most effective strategy to raise awareness has been word of mouth. Kevin works with his parents at the Haydocy Service Station, a Gulf gas station and tune-up garage just outside South Hadley Falls. While Eric stays home to push out paperwork, Kevin is in the shop filling up the gas tanks of vehicles for the municipal departments or tuning up motorcycles. The station’s ample customers have given Kevin plenty of opportunities to spread the word for the kidney search.
“If you see my brother walking down the street, you might get a little intimated because he’s such a big guy, but when you start getting closer to him, you realize that he’s a soft teddy bear,” Kevin said. “The whole town is behind him with this. We’re all just trying to get him a kidney.”
Those interested in learning more about donating a kidney can visit Haydocy’s National Kidney Registry page or Facebook page.
