WASHINGTON–Indiana Senator Todd Young honored the life of a Hoosier who died Sunday.
Ray Lindsey was from Mitchell, Indiana. He donated a kidney to a man named Bob Evans in 2014. Evans is another Hoosier from Lawrence County. Evans was put on the Kidney Transplant List in May 2013.
“His particular kidney ailment was hereditary, meaning families members who might have been a match could not donate. So Bob was left waiting for someone to step forward. Unbeknownst to Bob, an acquaintance, Ray Lindsey, quietly went to get tested. Ray took several days off work, traveling three hours round trip to Indianapolis to see if he would be a match,” said Young on the Senate floor Monday.
It turns out that Lindsey was a match for Evans.
“In the summer of 2014, Ray donated a kidney, and saved Bob’s life. Yesterday, Ray, one of the most selfless people I have ever met, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Ray was a humble and unassuming family man with a sense of humor. On his Facebook page, he called himself a ‘part-time hillbilly.’ Ray worked hard, and by the way, didn’t get any compensation for the weeks he had to take off work while recuperating from surgery,” said Young.
Young says Lindsey’s story made him more interested in organ donation policy.
“I introduced legislation to incentivize new breakthroughs in kidney disease treatment options. In 2018, the Trump Administration created a similar program called KidneyX,” said Young.
Lindsey leaves behind his wife, Debbie, three children, and eight grandchildren.
You can watch Young’s full remarks here.
