Michigan resident Matt Jones decided to offer one of his kidneys, simply because he knew someone would need it.
"I thought that if I could help one person live a decent life, that would be great," Jones said. "It's turned out to be a lot more than that."
Michael Rees, the medical director of the Alliance for Paired Donation, says Jones started the first-ever kidney donation chain. A kidney donation chain is an innovative idea wherein family members continue to "pay it forward" (that is, after an individual is blessed by a new kidney, someone in the recipient's family agrees to donate a kidney for someone else in need). Matt Jones's kidney was donated to Barbara Bunnell. Barbara's husband, in turn, will donate his kidney to Angela Heckman, a woman he barely knows. After Angela Heckman receives Bunnell's kidney, Angela's mother will donate her kidney to someone else.
Ron Bunnell, Barb's husband, says, "I look at it as Barb got this gift from Matt, and I'm just paying it forward. It is terrific to be part of something bigger."