Steven Shapiro is in a fight for his life as he searches for a kidney donor.

The 72-year-old retired teacher from Purchase has stage 4 kidney disease, which he says is the result of his use of lithium – a drug that his doctor had prescribed to him.

"In 2018, I went for a physical,” he said. “My creatinine level, which measure how well your kidneys are functioning, was low. That's when they discovered that some people who take lithium have this side effect. I stopped taking it, but one of the causes is that it gets worse over time. Ever since then, my kidneys got continuously worse."

According to data from the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network, there are nearly 7,000 candidates in New York state on the waiting list for kidney transplant surgery.

Without the surgery, Shapiro says he will have to undergo dialysis treatments. But he still has hopes of traveling with Susan, his wife of 38 years, and welcoming their new grandchild who's on the way.

"It's very big ask. They have to go through an operation, they have to go through certain tests to make sure that their health is good, but I'd be able to continue my life with my family, keep volunteering and have a happy life, which I do have now,” he said.

"These are our golden years. We are both recently retired,” said Susan. “We were, until this situation, mostly healthy and want to be here together and we'd like to continue that journey together."

Anyone interested in donating can visit the National Kidney Registry website.