CHICAGO (CBS) — Thursday night’s new CBS series “B Positive” was inspired by creator Marco Pennette’s kidney donation experience.
It is a reality for more than 3,000 people in Illinois who are waiting on a donation. CBS 2’s Tara Molina on Thursday night introduced us to one woman whose wait went viral last year – and the donor who stepped in to change her life.
Two lives changed at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center. Toni Barnes Jordan got a second chance at life, while Maranda Proce got a friend for life.
And it was all because of a tweet. One single tweet from Chicago native Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper.
“We were sitting on my back deck and he said, ‘I’m going to tweet this right now,’” Jordan said.
That is how it all started.
“We just built a bond ever since then,” Proce said. “I’m incredibly grateful for that single tweet.”
But it wasn’t just any tweet. Jordan is Chance the Rapper’s aunt, and his plea for help about her dire need for a kidney donation went viral – shedding light on the need for organ donors nationwide.
“They told me I didn’t have a chance of getting a living donor if it wasn’t a family member,” Jordan said.