He won the heart of the country on American Idol.
Now, Scott MacIntyre is sharing his amazing story of survival.
The Season 8 American Idol finalist spoke and performed at Lifebanc’s Legacy of Life luncheon Friday.
“A lot of people knew about my blindness and my some of my challenges when I was on American Idol,” he said. “But, what people didn’t know is that at 19 years old, I faced stage-four kidney failure.
Born without sight, MacIntyre said the setback caused him even more trouble. He learned about his diagnosis at his high school graduation. He eventually developed so much pain that he often couldn’t sing or play his piano at home.
After a couple months of dialysis treatment, in 2007, a woman changed MacIntyre’s life. The wife of his former piano teacher gave one of her kidneys to him.
“She was touched by my life, by my story, and she gave me that gift of life,” he said. “Without knowing it, she touched the lives of millions of people and she left the legacy of life through American Idol, through the concerts that I do, the books, the CDs. She was able to touch so many people by giving the gift to one person.”
Nearly 120,000 people are awaiting life-saving organ transplants. About 1,800 of them are from Northeast Ohio alone, according to the Lifebanc organization.
MacIntyre hopes people will consider being a living organ donor, so they too can save a life.
“I think the best thing anyone can do for someone else is to register to become an organ donor,” he said. “It’s something that does not affect you right now, but if you register, it’s a way that you can give the gift of life to someone still living here after you pass on, and it’s amazing. You would not believe the hope it gives to people, thousands of people who are currently waiting for life-saving transplants when you register to become an organ donor. So much hope.”
MacIntyre chronicles his kidney failure in his recent book, “By Faith, Not By Sight.”