A Marine in need: Desperate search underway for kidney donor

Iraq War veteran, father of three, suffering from end-stage kidney disease

For decades, Roger Esquibel has stood his post. As a Marine who served during the Iraq War, he lived by a code that prioritized the safety of others over his own comfort, a silent promise to protect a community he might never meet.

But today, in his quiet home in Sioux Falls, the battlefield has shifted. The uniform is gone, replaced by the steady, rhythmic hum of a dialysis machine that keeps the 55-year-old veteran alive, one grueling session at a time.

The man who once answered the call to serve his country now faces a mission he cannot complete alone. Roger is in urgent need of a living kidney donor – a final “watch” that requires a different kind of hero. This is a story of the ultimate service: a veteran who gave to his nation, now waiting for his community to serve him in the most personal way a human being can.

A Marine in retreat

For a veteran trained for the rigors of endurance, the physical toll of kidney failure has become a different kind of battle – one where the enemy is internal, and the clock is ticking. Roger’s battle began in October 2021, when the lingering ill-effects from a serious bout of Covid 19 caused permanent kidney damage forcing Roger into a life sustained by machines.

Twice a week he reports for duty at Sanford Imagenetics, but the mission has changed. Instead of field operations, he occupies a clinical chair for nearly four hours at a stretch. “The chairs are cold,” Roger says, his voice reflecting a weary resilience. “I need blankets to stay warm. I can hear my own blood cycling though the machine. When my treatment is over, I am exhausted.”

While he is currently on the transplant list at Avera and Donor Outreach for Veterans (DOVE), a non-profit veterans’ organization that seeks out living kidney donors, the gravity of his situation is punctuated by the doors that have already closed. The realization of how dire his condition has become hit home when Sanford determined he was not a candidate for its donor program.

Now his survival rests on the biological timeline that only a living donor can reset.

The advocate from afar

Across the country in New Jersey, Donna Tissot felt the pull of a mission that transcended state lines. A kidney advocate with eight years of experience and 28 lives saved through her intervention, Donna is no stranger to the high stakes of organ procurement. But when Roger reached out to her six months ago, his voice carried a weight that even she found hard to ignore.

“Roger wasn’t just tired; he was worn down from fighting every single day to stay alive,” Donna said. “Dialysis was taking everything out of him. And yet he wasn’t complaining. He just didn’t have the strength to advocate for himself.”

For Donna, the conversation was a turning point. While Roger was locked in the physical exhaustion of treatment, Donna became his external voice, the strategist for a battle he was too weak to lead. “Our conversation stayed with me,” she says. “I realized in the moment that staying on the sidelines wasn’t an option. This is what I do – I step up when someone is too sick and exhausted to tell their own story.”

Now Donna is searching the country looking for the one person whose “ultimate service” will match the years Roger gave his.

A new kind of heroism

With approximately 90,000 people currently awaiting a kidney, living donations serve as a vital alternative to long waiting lists for deceased donor kidneys. Especially since Covid, the reality of living donation is becoming a cornerstone of American altruism. In 2025, there were 6,521 kidney transplants from living donors. These aren’t just clinical success stories; rather, they are 6,521 individual decisions to step up and help fill the organ donation gap for those with kidney failure.

The hurdle for many, however, is a simple misunderstanding of how the process works “Many assume that deciding to be an organ donor and denoting that on their driver’s license covers it,” Donna says. “But that is a gift for the future. Waiting times (for kidney transplants) remain are long.”

Just how long?

Duke Health reports that the wait time for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor is three to five years. But for those seeking a transplant from a living donor the wait is much shorter, often occurring within three to six months or at most within a year.

This is where the “ultimate service” comes full circle. For Roger, the Marine Corps wasn’t just a job; it was a commitment to be there when the nation called. Now, the call is being put out to the Sioux Falls community. You don’t need a uniform or years of training to answer. You only need the willingness to undergo a procedure that, for most, results in a short recovery and a lifetime of knowing that a veteran – a neighbor – is still here because of you.

Fighting for time

Now in his greatest hour of need, Roger is searching for one person to help him secure a future that a machine cannot provide. “Dialysis isn’t living – it’s surviving,” he admits with a quiet honesty. “I am a father of three amazing daughters, ages 24, 22, and 13. I am reaching out for a living donor so my remaining time on this earth can be spent with them and eventually with my future grandkids.”

The Marine Corps instilled in Roger a foundation of strength, resilience and the value of putting others before himself – values he has carried in every facet of his life. Yet, as he looks back on his 55 years, he recognizes that his toughest battle didn’t take place in a uniform or on a distant shore. It is happening right now, twice a week in a clinical chair.

Roger remains a fighter, but he is a fighter who needs a teammate. “Every week my life revolves around my dialysis treatments, but through it all, I keep fighting because I am not ready to miss out on life,” he says.

For Donna Tissot, the mission is clear: it is time for the community to return the favor. “The greatest honor we can give a veteran is the gift of time,” Donna says. “The waiting list for a new kidney remains long, but Marine Corps veteran Roger Esquibel urgently needs a living donor now. After serving our country, he needs someone to step forward and give him a second chance at life.”

How you can help

You don’t need to be a soldier to save a life; you only need to be a match. To learn more about becoming a living donor for Roger or to begin the screening process, please visit:

https://medsleuth.my.site.com/dove/donors or

https://dovetransplant.org/roger-z-esquibel-iii/