LIVONIA — All Hubert “Buddy” Sparks wanted for his birthday this year was a new kidney. UWK talked with Sparks in Jan. 2026, ahead of his 55th birthday on March 1, and he said it would be the “perfect gift.”
His birthday came and went without a new kidney, but now, he can celebrate his half birthday knowing that a kidney is coming.
“I’m excited. I’m emotional, and it’s a little bit of everything right now going on,” Sparks said.
Sparks has struggled with kidney problems for years that stem from his blood pressure. “My blood pressure caused my kidneys to give up.” On top of that, he had to have his right kidney removed. “They took one of my kidneys out because I had a cyst on it.”
Since then, Sparks has been going to dialysis three days a week for four hours at a time.
“It’s just been four years, but it seemed like about 40 years to me. My whole life was on hold for this,” he said.
Now, all of that is about to change.
Waiting on a call
In the spring, Sparks said he heard from two potential donors following UWK‘s initial story. Both of them were strangers. He and one of the potential donors both did initial testing, which determined they weren’t a match.
He then moved forward with the second donor. Both went through rigorous testing, and Sparks had been waiting for the final results.
He finally got a call in early August from his coordinator with the news he’s been waiting years for.
“They told me there was there was working on a date,” he recalled. “She said, ‘If I get a text, the date is set.’ Then I got the text saying that I had to be down there for pre-op on the 10th, and the date was set after that. It’s scheduled for the 16th.”
“I was excited. I was nervous. I was just excited to hear it because I was waiting to hear from her, but I just didn’t know when I was going to hear from her,” Sparks said. “I’m just excited and I’m just ready to get it over with.”
Unknown donor
Sparks has spoken to his donor, who he said is a 26-year-old man named Ken from New Roads, LA.
“It is incredible. When you (UWK) first put my information out there, he saw it on Facebook,” Sparks explained. “I was talking to my son in Maine, and a phone call came in, and I said, ‘Wait a minute, let me catch this phone call.'”
“He said, ‘Mr. Sparks?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘I want to give you my kidney. I want to help you.’ I said, ‘I sure appreciate you.’ And that’s how he came at me. It shocked me. And we’ve been texting back and forth ever since.”
Though the two are perfect strangers, Sparks feels like he’s gaining a family member.
“We’re going to be brothers for life,” he said. “I lost my brother back in 2019 with cancer, and the good Lord sent me another brother.”
A new life on the horizon
Sparks is looking forward to traveling, getting back to work, and enjoying his new life.
“I can go see my son in Maine. I can go visit my my daughter in South Alabama. She’s going to try to become a doctor, and I’d like to go visit them,” Sparks said.
“I’m excited. I can have more free time on my hands and I want to go back to work,” he continued. “I’m getting back to church. I felt like I was tied down to that dialysis for four hours, three days a week, and that was my life. I thank the Good Lord had all that set up to help me continue with my life because it could have been worse, but I’m just thankful for that.”
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