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Man donates kidney to stranger after finding note in eBay package

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A man in Scotland who went under the knife two years ago to donate his kidney to a stranger said he didn’t even know it was legal to do so until he heard about it on the radio. Ray Duffy, 53, said it started with a package his wife purchased off eBay that contained a note from the seller about why they had chosen to sell their belongings.


"She had also written a thank you note explaining that her husband was on the transplant waiting list, had lost his job and that now and then they would sell things they didn't need on eBay so they could buy their kids a treat,” Duffy told SWNS. "She said that she drew the pictures to put a smile on people's faces as they had helped her put a smile on her children's faces.”

Duffy said the thank you note in the package had explained that they were selling items to buy their children gifts. 

Duffy said the note stuck with him, but at the time he didn’t know about living organ donation.

“I felt so helpless,” he told SWNS.

But two years later, he stumbled upon a radio segment about a man who had donated his kidney and the process of altruistic organ donation. He said the segment inspired him–having never forgotten about the woman’s note–and that he signed up to be a donor and started the testing process immediately.

Duffy said it stuck with him, and he was never sure how to honor the woman until he heard about living organ donation on the radio.

In March 2017, Duffy donated his kidney to a stranger. According to Organ Donation Scotland, more than 400 people are on the transplant list waiting for a kidney. The average wait for a kidney from a deceased donor is three years, which is why the organization applauds the over 500 people in the last 10 years who have chosen to become a living donor.

"It was a very humbling experience to be able to do something like that for someone else,” he told SWNS. “I know it's not for everyone and it's a huge decision but for me it just felt right."

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