Korea: Young American First Foreigner to Donate Kidney to Stranger

[Clark]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/06/27/2014062702287.html

Young American Donates Kidney to Stranger

An American donated his kidney to a Korean patient in his 40s on Thursday. The 28-year-old Gabriel Andrews became the first foreigner to donate an organ to a stranger.

"Kidneys can be transplanted between different races, not only between people with different blood types," said Han Deok-jong at the University of Ulsan's Asan Medical Center in Seoul after the transplant operation. "As the donor is very healthy, the patient who received his kidney is expected to quickly recover."

Andrews first grew interested in Korea when he befriended Korean students as a theology PhD candidate at Harvard. Inspired by his friendships, he decided to visit Korea for three months of language study in 2012. After mastering Korean, he now teaches theology at Hannam University in Daejeon.

He decided to donate his organ as a way to repay kindness and help he received from Koreans.

His kidney was transplanted to the patient, identified only by his surname Kim, who was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2006.

"I only started caring about other people once I became ill," Kim said, adding that he is now sincerely thankful for his donor's generous gift.