Nicholas Crace has a good heart and good kidneys. Well, just one kidney now. He donated the other for transplant. The recipient was completely unknown to him. He just did it out of the goodness of his heart. What makes this story more amazing is that Crace is 83 years-old.

It’s quite rare for someone that old to donate an organ, unless it’s after death. He had to undergo many tests to make sure his kidney would be viable for transplant, and each appointment required him to drive about 100 miles.

It seems his chronological age was no indicator of his kidneys’ performance, and Crace successfully underwent surgery to donate his kidney. Learn more.

Crace is doing fine with just one kidney now. And the woman in her 60s who received his other kidney is doing well, too.

• Would you donate a kidney, if a loved one needed it? Would you donate if you didn’t know the person?

• What do you think makes Nicholas Crace tick? What does he get out of all his caring and donation?

• In a diary that documented his experience, Crace wrote that he had lived an “easy, comfortable and selfish life, enjoyed excellent health and want to repay some of [his] good fortune.” Do you think people who are lucky in life have an obligation to give back to others?

• There are never enough organs to meet the demand for donation. How do you think that equation might be changed?

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