Christmas came early for one lucky person this year. A very generous Virginia Santa Claus gives a kidney to a special resident in need. It’s the greatest gift he could give.
Dave Bell has played Santa Claus for residents of Virginia for many years. However, this year, he wanted to do more than just make people smile; he wanted to save someone’s life. He achieved that by donating a kidney.
He hopes that his “small” act of kindness helps make the world a better place. To him, the reason for donating is simple.
“It’s kind of selfish if I’m at the lunch table and I have two apples and two sandwiches, and the child beside me opens their lunchbox, and they have nothing, and I don’t give them an apple and a sandwich. It’s the same thing with kidneys,” Dave says. “I have two kidneys. I only need one. They have none,” he explained.
It’s just so sweet that this Santa Claus would give a kidney to someone who needs it. He was very determined to donate, and after not meeting the weight requirements, he lost 40 pounds just so that he could have the procedure.
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“The moment I found out you can do this and still live, it’s just a no-brainer decision,” he said. “If you can do this, do it,” he tells others.
Dr. Amanda Bailey at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital says the mortality rate for those living on dialysis is high, and there aren’t enough deceased donors, which means more living people need to altruistically donate to help those in need.
“They really are saving somebody’s life,” she said.
Kidneys are the most needed organs of all. Over 90,000 people in the U.S. alone are currently waiting for a donor kidney. Sadly, many of them will die without a new kidney because of the lack of donors.
Dave’s efforts are so admirable. I hope the person who received Dave’s kidney knows how hard this Santa Claus worked to give it to them.
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