A Texas woman recently donated her kidney to a stranger in New Jersey, saving his life.
In June, 48-year-old Roy McIntosh received a kidney transplant at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden from Heather Schafer, who lives in Harker Heights, Texas.
According to CBN News, Schafer learned that McIntosh needed a kidney transplant after his wife, Toshira Maldonado-McIntosh, published a post on “The Laughing Christian” Facebook group last December asking for prayers for her husband.
“Please pray for my husband that God sends a type B+ living kidney donor to him,” her post read. “We believe in God for a miracle. Please pray for him.”
While Toshira did not know anyone in the group, she hoped God would send the right match for her husband.
Heather noted that she knew that she would be the one to donate her kidney to McIntosh once she read his wife’s message.
“I read the message and thought, ‘That’s for me,'” she recalled. “Somehow, I just knew I had a part to play. So, I messaged the lady about 30 minutes later and wrote, ‘I am B+ [blood type], and I’d like to look into if I can donate my kidney.'”
“What are the odds that a Caribbean man in New Jersey and a woman from Scotland living in Texas would even find one another, let alone be compatible?” she asked.
Several months and tests later, it was revealed that the two strangers were a perfect match.
“The greatest thing about organ transplant is that it provides a better rate of survival and dramatically allows recipients to lead more normal lives,” Virtua Advanced Transplant & Organ Health transplant surgeon Dr. John Radomski said.
“Dialysis, specifically, requires a restrictive lifestyle and can be quite taxing,” he added. “When on dialysis, you are essentially asking a machine to do in a few hours what the kidneys would normally do over the course of a few days. It takes a lot out of someone.”
In McIntosh’s case, he underwent dialysis three days a week, five hours a day. Today, he is no longer required to undergo the treatment.
“I feel 20 years younger!” McIntosh shared.
He believes that it was God’s plan to find him a perfect match.
Eight weeks after having a successful surgery, McIntosh and his family visited Schafer for the first time.
“We love Heather, and we are forever grateful,” McIntosh said.
Schafer, who chronicled her story on YouTube, summarized their story in this manner: “Perfect stranger, perfect match, perfect God.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Mi Viri
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.