"Dialysis, while a great process… it's saving a lot of lives," Dawn Clegg, Liam's mother, said. "For a 20-year-old, dialysis is not a long-term solution for him, and unfortunately, actually takes years off of your life. So, there's this added sense of urgency."

Since Liam's diagnosis, his family has taken to social media to get the word out and find a donor. Liam has type A blood, so he can receive a kidney from other people who are type A, positive or negative, as well as people with type O blood. However, blood type is not the only thing that goes into finding a match. 

"The criteria for matching is that you have to be the correct blood type… the second thing is the donor's health, and the third thing is that he and the donor have to have matching antibodies in their blood," David Clegg, Liam's father, explained. 

With the many criteria that must be considered, it is an arduous process to find a successful match for a kidney transplant. David himself went through the testing and was not a match. 

"This is what (the search) is, you just get as many people as you can and hope one matches," David said. "That's kind of the push."

Dawn said they were encouraged to look beyond family to find a donor. 

"The nephrology team was very candid with us, and said, 'you are better off kind of casting a wide net right, getting out there, spreading the word, because this process can take a long time,'" she said. 

Those who think they may be a match and are interested in being a donor are encouraged to contact David directly at 248-688-8388 through a text or phone call. 

While they wait, there are good days and bad, but Liam is keeping high spirits, David said. 

"He grinds stuff out," he said. "He's a worker, and he's just kind of taken on that attitude with this, you know: 'we're gonna get through it, and I'm gonna tough it out.'" 

Liam loves MSU and what he really wants is to get better and get back to East Lansing.

"He is hyper focused on getting back to school," Dawn said. "He wants his life back, and he's pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to do that."

Another thing that is important for the Cleggs is trying to find out why Liam got sick in the first place. As of right now, their doctors have been unable to find answers. 

Since he was a kid, Liam has been extremely active and hasn’t really had any health issues. Both sides of his family also have no history of kidney disease or disorders. 

"Right now, we don't know. There's a lot of work going on to try to figure it out, and with any luck, hopefully, in the next month or so, we get all this blood work back," Dawn said. "And that'll be a huge step forward if we can kind of get that at least somewhat understood."

The many doctors that the family have been going to are working through a few possibilities, some related to rare blood disorders, but nothing is concrete, she said.

Until then, the Cleggs are taking it day by day and doing everything they can to find Liam a donor. 

"All we want for Christmas is a new kidney for Liam," David said.