The Save Salim Campaign

Emergency Fundraiser for my brother Salim

This fundraiser is for my brother Salim, who has Stage 4 Liver Cirrhosis – a fatal condition where without a liver transplant soon, he will die.

Cirrhosis can be quite exhausting/taxing both physically & medically, especially when compounded by diabetes. Several stays in the hospital the last two years (including a bout with sepsis) has taken it’s toll on his body.

This fundraiser is to help cover the cost of his rent, monthly bills, food & medication. Salim has had to take a considerable amount of time off from work (which itself can be financially stressful for anyone) Even in a country with universal healthcare, serious illness can be financially challenging to navigate.

I want to make sure that the last thing he has to worry about are his finances. His primary job, while we search for a living liver donor, is to stay alive - I want all of his energy to be focused on that.

We are optimistic that he will receive a liver transplant from a living donor. And when this happens, he’ll need several weeks of rest & recovery.

One of the strengths of our community is when one of us is ailing, we can always count on others to be there to assist in a time of need (& faith grants us the opportunity to serve) We lift each other up when one of us is in danger of falling.

So this is an opportunity – to lift someone up, to save his life & become a stronger community in doing so.

If you have any questions, please email us at findsalimaliver@gmail.com or rahim@viciousminuteshour.com & we thank you for your support.

Donate

Note: As of December 20th, 2025, we have one person presently being tested to be a potential living liver donor to Salim, but we still do need to look for individuals to be tested should any issues arise that prevent a transplant with this potential donor. If you scroll down the page you’ll see more information about how you can help save someone’s life by being a living liver or kidney donor, but with regards to Salim, if you’re interested in potentially being a living liver donor to him, here’s what you need to know:

The key point to understand is that you have to be between the ages of 18-60, you have to have any blood type in the B or O blood group & that you name Salim to be a specific recipient for a portion of your liver. Your assessment to be a candidate will also mean a series of tests & questions about your medical history. For your safety, they need to make sure that you’re healthy enough for the procedure so that your recovery goes smooth.

You’ll undergo a series of tests after your initial screening. You do not have to live in Toronto for this process or procedure. If you live all the way across the country but you’re a healthy candidate to be a living liver donor, your travel expenses & accomodations will be paid for.

We’ve had a couple of individuals start the process to become a living liver donor, but unfortunately, they weren’t the right match.

There are four links of note. Click on the first link and you will be taken to you to the Living Liver Donor Evaluation page. Living Liver Donor Evaluation (uhn.ca)

The second link is the application: Living Donor Transplant Program - Donor Health History (uhn.ca)

The third link is a more comprehensive look at how the procedure is done & a more comprehensive look at the procedure: Living Liver Donor (uhn.ca)

The fourth link is another look at the Living Liver Donor program, focusing more on the Ajmera Transplant Centre https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Liver_Transplant_Program

If you require assistance on filling out the application, you can simply message me (rahim) at findsalimaliver@gmail.com or rahimladha99@gmail.com & I’ll be happy to help.

How You Can Help Save Someone’s Life By Being A Living Liver or Kidney Donor

LIVE ON: Real Stories of Living Liver Donors and Recipients (October 2019)

In Canada, there are over 4000 men, women & children who are currently waiting for a life-saving organ donation. In the United States of America, that number is over 100,000.

A lot of the conversations around organ donation are for when an individual dies. But as someone with a brother who has been fighting Stage 4 Liver Cirrhosis for over two years, I’ve learned a lot about how someone can be a living organ donor & be able to give the gift of life to someone else, at a low risk to themselves.

What are the benefits of a living-donor liver or kidney transplant?

There are many benefits of living liver or kidney donation, including:

Living donor transplants helps save the lives of people with end-stage liver disease or kidney failure. Furthermore, it increases the number of livers & kidneys available for people on the transplant waiting list. You’re not just helping to save one life, but increasing the odds of survival for everyone on the waiting list just a little more.

Living-liver or kidney donors can feel good knowing that they've had a huge impact on another person's life.

Living liver or kidney donors and transplant recipients can schedule surgery at a time that works for both people.

Flexible scheduling allows the transplant to occur sooner. This can save valuable time spent on the liver or kidney transplant waitlist and reduce the risk that the recipient’s end-stage liver or renal disease will get worse.

For a living liver donor, because they are receiving a portion of a healthy donor's liver, recipients typically have improved long-term outcomes and quicker recovery

Girl receives lifesaving kidney during pandemic, thanks to former babysitter (May 2023)

Living liver donors, for example, do not typically experience any serious long-term complications, in part because the liver is unique among the body’s organs in its ability to regenerate. After giving part of one’s liver, it will eventually return to close to its original size. The most rapid regeneration occurs in the first six weeks after surgery—during this time, the liver typically returns to about 80 percent of its original size.

For a kidney donor & recipient, a transplanted kidney from a living donor often lasts longer. This is partly because time can be taken to do the necessary tests to get a better tissue match between donor and recipient, with less of a risk of organ rejection.

The kidney from a living donor is usually healthier than an organ from a deceased donor and may last longer: 15 to 20 years on average,

The kidney functions right away. A kidney from a living donor usually functions in the recipient from the time it is transplanted, so the recepient may avoid the need for dialysis.

How You Can Help

You may know someone right now that you care for a great deal who is requiring of living donor transplant surgery to live. In a matter of weeks, you can help save their life. And you don’t have to know someone to be a donor – you can simply sign up to be tested & if you feel compelled to go forward with the process, you’ll be matched with the right individual.

If you’re interested in being a living liver or kidney donor to someone in Canada or the United States of America, but don’t know where to start and need some help, simply message me in the form below. You do not need to share your name - just an email address and the province or state you’re living in, or asking about, and I’ll send you an e-bundle with all the information you need to get started, so that you can ask the right people the questions you need answered. You won’t be put on any mailing list or contacted unless you initiate dialogue.

I’ve put together an e-bundle for every health unit across North America detailing procedures, contact information, support services, community organizations that’ll offer assistance in the time you’re recovering, right down to support for those who who need to have their dog walked or their plants watered (Yes, I’ve thought of everything)

If you’re going to take this brave step for someone, whether you know them or not, let’s make sure we take care of you on the journey to recovery.

A video from the October 25th, 2024 news broadcast by CTV Network on the living donor program with the Ajmera Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital (Courtesy of Bell Media)

Form & Additional Iinformation

Once again, you do not need to provide your name. I do ask - if you do go ahead with at least being tested, I would encourage you to let me know, as I’d like to see if our efforts are working. If they’re not, then clearly I have more work I have to do, so it would be great to at least know people are responding in a positive fashion. You can email me at findsalimaliver@gmail.com or rahim@viciousminuteshour.com to let me know. Below this for, you’ll also see a tracker for our rate of success in getting people to sign up to be tested.

Tracker: (as of December 20th, 2025)

(Note: This was an informal initiative as I was searching for a living liver donor for my brother - this initial data is before December 20th, 2025 & will be updated every three weeks)

Individuals who have signed up to be tested as a living liver or kidney donor in their area:

4.

Individuals who have been matched with a recipient for transplant surgery:

3. How We Can Help

I’ve been working on finding my brother a living liver donor for over two years, and although we’ve come close, we still haven’t been able to find him that one match & individual that can save his life. We’re very lucky that we have one person presently in the testing protocol so I hope we can share some great news ahead. But I also believe there’s more we can still do, to help others.

The process of finding a living liver or kidney donor is not easy to navigate. And if you’re someone who is in a similar position where you’re having little to no luck when it comes to finding a living organ donor to help you, perhaps there’s something we can do to at least encourage the process not just with sending you links or ideas, but actually being there for you as well, to hopefully make a difference in the process.

I’ve been immersed in this world for a little while, and having been a professional fundraiser, the approach to the work has always been about making a connection between a person who’s looking for the opportunity to give & giving them the reason to give, to the cause that I represent.

This process is no different. But it’s also immediate. You’re not raising money for an organization or cause that may be on the other side of the planet, but making a connection between someone who has the opportunity to give the gift of life & the individual possessing the reason.

This means if we’re going to help Salim, it can’t come without helping you too. I can’t just know the things I know and not share with others who need the help. You’re my reason to give.

I’m attaching a form here. If you or someone you love requires a living organ transplant to stay alive, and need help to organize your own campaign (including the resources to run your own campaign without having to pay for it) message me through the form.

Wherever you are, I know how to find the people who can help you, because you can’t do this alone & I don’t want you to. We can lean on each other and in doing so, have a fighting chance to help save each other.

Reach out.

rahim