Teacher shocks family with secret plan to donate kidney to student

Talk about no child left behind.

Eddie McCarthy, a math teacher at Whitmer High School in Toledo, Ohio, is preparing to donate a kidney to his student, Roman McCormick.

McCormick, a 15-year-old sophomore, was born with branchiootorenal/branchiootic syndrome.

The rare genetic condition can affect the growth and development of the neck (branchio-), ears (oto-) and kidneys (renal), according to Kidney.org.

“I’m not able to eat foods that most normal kids will be able to. I’m not able to be more [physically] active because [my] kidneys are slowing down my physical activity,” McCormick told “Good Morning America,” noting his condition often drains his energy levels as well.

Over the years, McCormick’s health has deteriorated, resulting in Stage 4 kidney disease. Doctors warned that he would have to go on dialysis unless he could find a kidney donor.

Determined to save their son, McCormick’s parents, Jamie Redd and Dan McCormick, who also has a variation of the condition, began reaching out to local news outlets and foundations to publicize their search for a live donor.

“That story was pretty much our cry for help to get a donor, to get people to want to donate, to be live donors,” Redd said.

“Our goal was to get a live donor because a kidney from a live donor will last longer than from a deceased donor.”

The desperate parents began their search two years ago — the happy ending to the story came only recently, thanks to the community-minded McCarthy.

“In mid-February, I think the story was just going around, maybe on Facebook or something and maybe one of my friends might have texted me like, ‘Hey, this is your student.’ So I saw that and then the next day, or maybe a day after that, I went and got tested,” he recounted.

“We were matched … then I just kept going back up to the hospital and doing all the tests that you have to do, and I kept coming back healthy, and it was shown that I’m a match for him.”

The process took five long months. But McCarthy never hesitated.

“He was in my class this year and he’s such a nice kid. After seeing that news story, I figured I would at least try,” McCarthy told Washington Local Schools.

The geometry teacher initially planned to remain anonymous, but his own parental instincts told him that McCormick’s family would want to know their donor.

He was at a loss as to how to make the call and even wrote a script, he said.

He could have said anything — the family was reportedly in shock over the good news.

“The fact that my son was able to get a donor just means the world to me,” McCormick told GMA. “I’ll never be able to … thank him enough for everything that he’s done for us. He’s a wonderful human being.”

The relieved mother noted, “I was just so speechless … I could thank him for the rest of my life and it would still never be enough for what he’s doing. And I know it’s a commitment not just from him, but his family too.”

But McCarthy simply said he’s “just very excited” to help his student and encourages others to get checked for potential matches.

“You technically don’t need both of yours. So, why not help someone who really really needs it?” he said.

The surgeries will take place July 19 at the University of Michigan University Hospital in Ann Arbor, near Detroit.