The Gift: Donating a Kidney to a Stranger

Описание: In 2019, Hendrik Gerrits donated a kidney to a complete stranger just before the holidays and discovered the true meaning of giving.

When the 37-year-old father of two stepped forward to become a living kidney donor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, he not only transformed the life of Kali Waters, a 20-year-old woman whose chances of finding a match were 1 out of 100. Hendrik also set off a chain of kidney transplants that would change the lives of the organ recipients, the organ donors, their families, and countless others.

Hendrik also came away from the experience with a greater connection to the people and the world around him. “Organ transplants cross racial divides, social divides, political divides. It’s such a visceral reminder of how we really are completely the same,” says Hendrik. “That is a gift.”

Watch Hendrik and Kali’s inspiring journeys unfold — and see them meet for the first time after the transplant — at https://healthmatters.nyp.org/the-gif...