Soon after he was born, Roman McCormick‘s parents learned that he had a rare hereditary condition that required surgery and carried a high probability of kidney failure. All his life, Roman had to be careful about his diet and in recent years, he developed stage 4 kidney disease that will require him to get a transplant or go on dialysis. Earlier this year, Roman’s parents turned to local news to help spread the word and hopefully find a live donor for the now 15-year-old.
The news coverage caught the attention of Eddie McCarthy, Roman’s math teacher from last year at Whitmer High School in Toledo, Ohio, and he wanted to see if he was a match. McCarthy tested as a match for Roman and decided to become a living donor. Further testing has cleared the way for the two to have transplant surgery that’s scheduled for July 19th.
Roman’s parents are beyond grateful for McCarthy’s selfless generosity. “I'll never be able to thank him enough for everything that he's done for us,” says Roman's dad Dan McCormick, “He's a wonderful human being." But for McCarthy, who’s a dad himself, the decision was easy once he put himself in Roman’s parent’s position. “There's people out there who need kidneys,” McCarthy says, “So, why not help someone who really really needs it? It's totally worth it to just go for it.”
Roman’s parents hope that the story will encourage people to consider becoming living donors and that it will help parents of kids who need life-saving transplants to not give up hope.
Source: GOOD MORNING AMERICA