Boy From "Success Kid" Meme Is Now 8, Fundraising for His Dad's Kidney Transplant

Sammy Griner uses Internet fame to help raise money for father Justin's expensive treatment and eventual surgery

By Rebecca Macatee Apr 15, 2015 4:56 PMTags
Sammy Griner, Success KidCourtesy Griner Family

Remember "Success Kid," the triumphant little boy whose image sparked one of the Internet's most popular memes?

His name is Sammy Griner, and he's 8 years old now. That's not all, though: His dad Justin Griner needs a new kidney, and Sammy's using his Internet fame to help fundraise for his father's treatment and transplant!

Success Kid's mom, Laney Robertson Griner, started a GoFundMe page for donations, hoping to raise $75,000 to help cover medical expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, over $83,000 in donations have come in from over 4,000 people around the world. All that money will be put to good use, though, because as she tells the Daily Dot, costs of the dialysis and transplant are covered by Medicare, but additional treatment is often paid for out of pocket.

Courtesy Griner Family

"There's a lot of medicines and anti-rejection drugs one must take for life, some costing thousands of dollars a month," she says. "Medicare pays for the first three months, and that's it."

Justin, 39, was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006, experienced full kidney failure in 2009, and he's been on dialysis ever since. This isn't a permanent solution, explains Laney. "One can only survive with no natural kidney function and using article kidney filtering for so long," she says. "His energy and mood are affected, he can no longer work, and he spends 12 hours a week in dialysis clinic. Having been on dialysis for this long greatly increases his risks of developing further complications. The only way to save his life is to get a transplant. There's no other way around that."

"We've had several friends and family offer and get tested to be donors, but no match so far," Laney tells the Daily Dot. "We certainly prefer a living donor because the prognosis seems to be much better. Getting on a list for a cadaver donor can take five years or more. We're certainly not opposed, but, obviously, the sooner the better for us all."

On the Griners' GoFundMe page, they provide a link to the Mayo Clinic's form which can determine whether you're a match to donate a kidney. They are optimistic, too, about the possibility of a stranger stepping forward. "We're the parents of 'Success Kid' for goodness sake," says Laney. "If anyone understands the power, the mass, and goodwill of the Internet, it's those of us lucky to experience it daily."