Legendary rapper Scarface is reaching out for help. On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the 49-year-old took to his Twitter account and revealed that he was looking for a kidney donor. His appeal attracted many sympathizers who wanted to help, including a couple of hip-hop stars who — unwittingly? — went too far.
“I need a kidney y’all any volunteers?” the rapper tweeted, before adding, “B+ blood type.” The post received 6,000 like and just as many retweets from fans wishing the rapper luck on his health journey and others who offered up some other remedies the Houston native could benefit from in the meantime.
Following Scarface’s plea, fellow rap peer T.I. stepped up to show his support to his friend. The “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle” star shared the news with his 13.1. million followers on Instagram. “Love & Prayers To Da Homie @brothermob We got a bag for a volunteer… who B+? Serious inquiries only hit my dms to verify ya B+ blood type,” the rapper captioned a screenshot of Scarface’s tweet. The post received over 44,000 likes and 2,300 comments from friends and fans commending the rapper on his generosity.
Some fans were even ready to offer up their help, including one person who wrote, “Im b positive hit me up.” T.I. replied to the user, “dm me verification of ya B+ & ya phone number kid.” Comedian Lil Duval revealed he too had some people willing to volunteer. “Go in my comments it’s a few ready and willing,” the rapper wrote.
It seems that Tip, Lil Duval and the many social media users who responded to the Atlanta rapper’s financial inducement to give a kidney to Scarface were unaware that selling organs or otherwise offering monetary compensation to donate an organ is illegal under the National Organ Transplant Act. At least a few Instagram users did point out that something seemed amiss about T.I.’s proposal, but they were a distinct minority.
“Be careful posting stuff like this. I don’t know about his transplant center but as a transplant recipient they front upon paying people and u will deny the person,” one user commented. They added, “I was transplanted at Duke in NC so all enters may be different but just be careful so it doesn’t knock him out of an opportunity. Prayers up for him and wishing him the best because it is the best gift a person can receive is the gift of life.”
While a second person wrote, “It is illegal to buy or sell human organs.” The user informed the rapper that “people can volunteer their organs, yes, but they cannot sell them.” They added, “So remove the ‘bag’ part. Volunteer to donate their organs*.”
As previously reported, the Scarface revealed in March that he had contracted COVID-19, shortly after the coronavirus pandemic began in earnest that month. After narrowly defeating the disease, that rapper said he was now dealing with the aftermath of the infection, including kidney damage. Scarface also noted that his health had gotten so bad that he had to be placed on dialysis at one point.
During an appearance on FOX 26 Houston in June, the rapper opened up about those lasting effects caused by the virus. “COVID attacked my lungs first, and then it attacked my kidneys and knocked them out. I got full lung recovery, but my kidneys never came back. I’m still a little weak. I don’t have a lot of strength in my legs yet. I still haven’t got full taste back and sense of smell yet. But I am glad to be alive,” Scarface said at the time.
Pointing to his dialysis port, Scarface said, “This my new lifeline.” He added, “I gotta change my entire diet. I gotta do dialysis four times a week, three hours a day. That’s taking all of my blood out, cleaning it, and putting it back in my body. Before the COVID, I never had kidney problems before.”
