Teacher Donating Kidney - A Texas elementary school teacher has agreed to donate one of her kidneys to her 6-year-old student, who has been looking for a donor for the past two years.
Reports indicate that Matthew Parker has been looking for a donor. Doctors told the family that there was only a 1% chance of him finding a desirable donor after his body rejected a previous transplant.
Lindsey Painter, a Hoffman Lane 1st grade teacher, got tested following a public plea for donors. The results of the test shocked both Painter and the Parkers who have been scouring the country for a donor.
"When it came back that I was a match, it was shocking," Painter said. "It did take a while to wrap my head around it, to think that I can do this, I can still live a normal life...and I get to make this amazing difference in Matthew's life."
Matthew only goes to school twice a week. During the other three days he goes to the San Antonio for dialysis treatment. Doctors believe that all that would change after he has undergone a kidney transplant. The 6-year-old is expected to live a normal life after making full recovery.
Reports indicate that Matthew and Painter are scheduled to undergo surgery in mid-March.
The Parkers were also shocked and very pleased when they discovered that Painter was a perfect match for their ill son.
"The nurse at the hospital said we had to be realistic," said Lisa Parker, Matthew's mother. "The term, 'needle in a haystack,' was used several times," she said.
"When I found out Mrs. Painter was a match I went up and gave her a big hug," Matthew said.
