A 30-year-old former medical student in the United Kingdom has donated a kidney to one of his erstwhile professors as a way to thank her for inspiring him “to become a radiologist.”
Ali Golan, who is currently either a radiologist or a “radiologist equipment tutor,” according to the Daily Mail, which has him as both, found out about Dr. Sonia Leonardo’s need by coming across a Facebook post indicating she’d suffered kidney failure.
Dialysis had been difficult, 42-year-old Leonardo tells the outlet, and she was thrilled to hear from a former student with such a kind offer.
“[W]hen I found out he was a match for me I just cried,” she says. “Part of me was always thinking he would change his mind.”
It’s not clear that Leonardo herself teaches or practices radiology per se, but, as human-interest stories go, this is a pretty good one. Check it out and see the photos.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.