Supt. Johnson Receives Numerous Offers For Kidney Donation
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson could be receiving a kidney sooner than he thought.
After falling ill at a press conference on Friday from taking blood-pressure medicine on an empty stomach, Supt. Johnson announced an unrelated issue after a misconception - he lives with a kidney disease and is currently on a waiting list for a kidney transplant at Rush University Medical Center.
To his surprise, Johnson may be receiving the kidney he needs thanks to support from the community. WBBM's Mike Krauser reports.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson attended late Saturday morning at Chicago Police Academy's final open house event. Johnson spoke about his condition and the support and numerous offers of kidney donation he has received since announcing his condition.
"I can't express enough how amazing it is, and how humbling of a feeling it is, to have so many people reach out to me personally and call headquarters," Johnson said. "I was stunned."
WBBM asked Johnson if anyone in the department has offered him a kidney.
"As a matter of fact, you're going to make me get emotional, but yes," Johnson said people, both from the department and civilians, have offered.
Johnson said all the offers have blown him away.
"Yeah, it actually does, especially, I'll tell you we had people dialing 911 asking officers to come over to their home so they could give them their information, so I gotta tell you guys, it's a humbling, humbling feeling," Johnson said.
Johnson said there will now be a testing process to see if potential donors are compatible.
"But what I would say to people, this is not just about me," Johnson said. "There is a lot of people out there that are in need of organ donations, for whatever reason."
