'Angel Hero' Who Donated Kidney to Total Stranger Says It 'Was No Big Deal'
Helping someone is need is something most everyone likes to do. A few dollars here, a meal there. Every little bit helps.
But 30-year-old Mitchell Salas of Woods Cross, Utah, needed more than a little help. He’s struggled with kidney issues his entire life and desperately needed a new organ.
Between dialysis and failed transplants and a heartbreaking diagnosis of testicular cancer, it looked like Salas might never get a chance at a better quality of life.
“I didn’t have anybody and was kind of like, ‘Man, I don’t know what to do,'” Salas told KSL. When all hope seemed lost, that’s when a miracle happened.
We often hear of family members and close friends wanting to donate organs to loved ones, but a total stranger? That seems less likely.
For a 32-year-old dad-of-three Matthew Thompson, giving an organ to someone in need was one thing he’d always wanted to do.
“Knowing I can help someone is good enough for me,” Thompson told KTVX. “There’s no different from this, in me, giving anyone a kidney as to go to your neighbor’s house and unload the groceries. They need help. Why not help?”
And help he did. While Thompson doesn’t see himself as a hero, Salas feels otherwise. “Not all heroes wear capes,” the transplant recipient told ABC.
“This guy has literally saved my life,” he continued. “I appreciate it so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
But Thompson doesn’t want payment. He’s just a good Samaritan with a big heart who says it was “no big deal.” “The pain is nothing compared to knowing I helped someone,” he said.
“Why would I be selfish and keep it when someone else needs it that bad?” he said Friday. https://t.co/jgD2LNUb89
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) March 31, 2019
“Why would I be selfish and keep it when someone else needs it that bad?” Thompson told KSL. We love his outlook. What a cool guy with a great big heart!
So many people need donors who can make their hope a reality. For more information on organ donation, visit OrganDonor.gov.
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