(Memphis) County Commissioner Steve Mulroy has donated a kidney, but not to anyone he knows.
The operation was two days ago, but Mulroy is already up and at ’em.
Mulroy doesn’t know who got his kidney, but he wrote them a letter, “I’d want to know what their life was like and what they had been going through up until the time they got the kidney, and hopefully you know, how much better things have gotten since then.”
There are 80,000 people waiting for a kidney.
Methodist Hospital does an average of 35 kidney transplants a year.
There aren’t enough donors, and even those who want to give to a loved one may not be the right match.
Mulroy is well aware of the stats, “Every one of us is walking around with a ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
He matched an unknown recipient.
The donor who didn’t match that person was able to give to someone else.
That chain reaction meant six people got kidneys across the country Tuesday.
Dr. James Eason, program director for Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute said, “By him starting the chain, it enabled somebody who didn’t have a kidney donor to get a kidney. And then their donor was able to donate to someone else who they were compatible with, and on down the line.”
Mulroy says he was inspired by a local priest who did the same.
Oh and there was that one Simpson’s episode where Homer is in the hospital, “And who is his roommate, but his annoyingly cheerful next door neighbor, Ned Flanders who says, Hi diddly diddly neighbor. Good to see you! When Homer asks to whom the kidney is going, Ned replies, ‘First come, first serve.”
Asked if he was ready to take on fellow commissioner Terry Roland, Mulroy said,” I don’t know if anyone is ever up to handling Terry Roland. That’s a tall order. But I will say that, come Monday, I will be there. I will do my duty for the voters of Shelby County.”
If you’re interested in donating a kidney, or just learning more, call (901) 516-8466.