Newberg, Ore. — (KGW) Kevin Gray has said he has no intention of accepting a kidney donation from convicted killer Christian Longo.
Longo was convicted in 2003 of killing his wife and three children. Their bodies were found two years earlier, left in Oregon coastal waterways.
At first, Gray seemed to be open to the idea but last Friday he stated he didn’t want to be involved in what might be seen as a killer’s publicity campaign.
“I am not grateful that Longo personally is offering me a kidney,” Gray said. “Longo deserves no publicity from this.”
On March 17th Kevin Gray stood on a street corner in Newberg, Oregon holding a sign. It said, “Living Kidney Donor Needed. Please help.”
Gray learned he had Stage Five kidney failure in May. He got on a donor waiting list but Gray wanted to do more than just wait.
“You gotta believe,” said Gray, a husband and father of three. “If you don’t believe, than you’ve got nothing.”
That faith may have paid off in an unusual way.
Oregon death row inmate Christian Longo has contacted Gray, and is hoping to give him the kidney he so badly needs.
No law prohibits inmates from donating organs, but it’s rarely allowed.
“I just think it’s a shame that the Kevin Grays of this world have to resort to standing on a street corner to find a kidney when there’s millions of inmates and others that would like to donate but are needlessly prohibited from doing so,” Longo said in a letter.
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