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Utah resident Ted Bartling is a rocket scientist with a heart, and he has made three kidney transplants possible because of his selfless actions and compassion for others. Originally Ted Bartling decided to sacrifice one of his kidneys in order to help a stranger who needed this organ but he ended up helping 2 strangers instead.

Sacrificing a kidney for donation involves major surgery and significant pain and discomfort, but these facts did not stop Ted Bartling from moving forward to do what he thought was right.

Ted Bartling Never Took a Normal Life For Granted

At 51 years old, Ted Bartling had thought about donating a kidney to someone who really needed it for more than a decade. The cut off age for a kidney transplant donation is 60 years old. If Ted Bartling was going to fulfill this goal he would have to do it within the next 5-9 years at the most.

When interviewed by Yahoo Shine, Bartling was quoted as saying  “For at least 15 years, donating a kidney had been on my mind as something I could do to help somebody live a normal life like mine. They’ll only take a kidney up until you’re about 60. I can do small things for people, but sometimes we have to do the bigger things if we are capable.”

An Incredible Chain of Events Started by Ted Bartling

Three people received a kidney transplant because of Ted Bartling, and the chain of events that he started was inspiring. The transplants were performed at Primary Medical Children’s Center and University Hospital, both in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When Ted Bartling decided to go ahead and give the gift of a kidney to a complete stranger, three patients who needed a kidney were located, and none of them had found a match so far:

·       Beckham Fershtut was 2 years old, and both parents were willing to donate but they were not a match.

·       Donor Kristy Buffington was willing to give to her friend 40 year old Brandy Jess, but she was not a suitable match for Brandy.

·       Juan Romero had a rare blood type, B-, and at 45 years old no donor could be found with the same blood type.

Ted Bartling Inspires Others and Motivates Donors

Ted Bartling was a suitable kidney donor for Brandy Jess, and once this happened everything seemed to come together quickly. Kristy Buffington could not donate to Jess but she was a good candidate for Beckham Fershtut, and the little 2 year old was just weeks away from needing dialysis and was in bad shape. Beckham’s father Ari was a good candidate to donate a kidney to Juan Romero.

Without the offer by Ted Bartling, and his kidney donation that started the chain of events, none of the three survivors may have received a kidney transplant in time. According to the doctor who performed the transplant all three patients did well and are thankful for the gift that they received.

• Would you be willing to give a kidney to someone you did not know?
• What if it was a small child? An older individual? Someone who would die soon without a donated kidney?
• Would you volunteer at a hospital to help and comfort kidney transplant patients?
• What else could you do to help someone find a matching donor?
• If you were the parents of 2 year old Beckham, would you donate a kidney even though your child was not a match?