Man speaks out after unexpectedly helping save 2 lives with his 1 kidney
A California man unexpectedly helped save two lives after he decided to donate one of his kidneys.
It all began when Clay Garcelli's younger brother, Carter, needed a kidney.
Garcelli, 26, said when he learned about the news of his brother's health his mind was already made up about being his donor.
"It wasn't really like a question for me whether or not to do it," he told ABC News' Erielle Reshef. "I was just going to do it and I just wanted to help him get as healthy as he possibly could and do the things that he wanted to do in his life."
Their journey met with a setback in the beginning after preliminary testing showed Garcelli wasn't a match for his brother.
However, the UCLA Health system offers a kidney exchange program, allowing Garcelli to donate to a total stranger.
Garcelli's donation to a stranger guaranteed his brother a compatible kidney from someone else.
In December, Garcelli donated his kidney to 57-year-old Sonya Glover, who had been waiting for a match for almost 10 years.
Speaking to "GMA," Glover gushed over Garcelli, calling him, "My angel."
"I told him and his wife ... like we're connected forever," she said. "You guys will get random cards from me. It's like that, you know, it's like you're my family now."
Garcelli and Glover did not meet each other until after the surgery. Their emotional first meeting was recorded and shared on social media.
In the video, the two embraced each other as Glover can be heard telling Garcelli, "Thank you so much. Thank you, such a blessing."
"I'm glad that you feel really nice," Garcelli told Glover in the video.
While Garcelli and Glover reunited, 22-year-old Carter Garcelli was still at home on dialysis waiting anxiously for a match.
"Because I had gotten so used to not feeling that well, I didn't notice how bad I felt," Carter Garcelli told ABC News.
In February, Carter Garcelli received a new kidney from an anonymous donor.
"I feel great. I'm able to go out and do stuff again. Like, I feel so much better," he said after the transplant.
Growing up, Carter Garcelli said he always looked up to his older brother, and now he is forever grateful for what Clay Garcelli did to help him get a fresh start in life.
"There's not enough I can do to thank him for what he's done for me," he said. "What he did truly did save my life, and I can't thank him enough for it."
Glover also expressed her gratitude to the two brothers.
"Words can't express how grateful I am for Clay and his brother," she said. "They started this whole process. I just thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, appreciation is not enough."
Just days after receiving her transplant, Glover shared that her granddaughter was born at the same hospital, telling "GMA" that she is having a great year.
As for what others could take away from the story, Dr. Jeffrey Veale, who performed the transplant, said that the gift of organ donation is color blind, adding that organs are not black or white, "a kidney is pink."
