'It’s just a miracle': Saskatoon woman finds kidney donor after advertising search on her car
After months of driving around the city with an advertisement for a kidney donor on her bright red car, Debbie Onishenko will soon be able to rip off the decals as her search has ended.
Last summer CTV News Saskatoon published a story about Onishenko’s search, which caught the attention of Brent Kruger. He realized he had the same blood type as Onishenko and knew he had to reach out.
“It was clear to me that I had to do it. I would be very upset with myself if I didn’t at least try because if there was a chance that I was a match and I didn’t do it, I don’t think I could live with myself,” Kruger told CTV News.
Between August and January, Kruger says he had at least 40 vials of blood taken for tests, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds and more to see if he was healthy enough to donate a kidney.
He had only spoken to Onishenko over the phone until they ran into each other at St. Paul’s Hospital while they were doing some testing.
Saskatoon's Debbie Onishenko is getting creative in her search for a transplant donor. (Keenan Sorokan/CTV News)
“First thing we did was grab each other and hug. We stopped crying and it was amazing to actually meet him in person after just having talked over the phone or through messenger,” Onishenko said.
Kruger says he got the official call last week, receiving the good news that he was a match and a potential kidney donor for Onishenko.
“It’s just a miracle, you think with all the people that live in Saskatoon and there were only a couple few people that called about it. To find out that I actually had a match is unbelievable,” Onishenko said.
While surgery hasn’t been scheduled yet, the pair and their families have gotten to know each other and are well on their way to a lifelong friendship. Kruger says his wife and Onishenko share the same love for Harry Potter.
The pair hopes their story inspires other people to donate whatever they can to a person in need such as blood, plasma and bone marrow.
Onishenko says the experience has changed both their lives for the better.
“I didn’t expect it to have the impact on me that it did. I just went in it for Debbie,” said Kruger.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Global Affairs reports Canadian killed in Lebanon in connection with Israel-Hamas war
Global Affairs is reporting the death of another Canadian due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. This is the ninth casualty connected to Canada.
Israel orders mass evacuations as it widens offensive; Palestinians are running out of places to go
The Israeli military on Monday renewed its calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
This Canadian couple used surrogacy to have a child. Here's what they want you to know
Families that need help conceiving a child are met with financial burdens that should be covered through government health care and insurance, advocates say.
From COVID-19 to alien contact, conspiracy theories are popular in Canada: survey
The Earth is flat. We have been secretly contacted by intelligent beings from other planets. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did not land on the moon in 1969. They may sound like bizarre statements, but a new poll suggests a sizable number of Canadians believe in these and other conspiracy theories.
Renowned Quebec entrepreneur, partner reported dead in Caribbean
Quebec entrepreneur Daniel Langlois and his spouse Dominique Marchand have died in their adopted home of Dominica, in the Caribbean, a source has confirmed.
Oxford University Press has named 'rizz' as its word of the year
Oxford University Press has named 'rizz' as its word of the year, highlighting the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone's ability to attract or seduce another person.
Renowned Canadian musician and former April Wine singer Myles Goodwyn dead at 75
Myles Goodwyn, the award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter who shot to stardom as the former lead singer of April Wine, has died at age 75.
Backlash continues following Moncton’s decision to not display the Menorah this year
Outrage seen from the community and across the country online after the news broke Friday that the City of Moncton would not display the Menorah this year.
Another inmate dead at notoriously harsh Newfoundland jail, officials confirm
An inmate has died at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in Newfoundland, one of the oldest operating provincial jails in the country, officials with the provincial Justice Department confirmed.