For his next trick, actor Jesse Eisenberg will be donating a kidney to a complete stranger.
The “Now You See Me” star revealed recently on NBC’s “Today” he is “doing an altruistic donation” in mid-December and is “so excited to do it,” suggesting it was an easy decision.
“It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” he said, noting he made the decision after starting to donate blood. “I think people will realize that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”
Later in the conversation, the 42-year-old celebrity explained more about how the process works.
“Let’s say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City, [and] their child or whoever was going to donate to them is, for whatever set of reasons, not a match, but somehow I am,” he said. “That person can still get my kidney and, hopefully, that child of that person still donates their kidney, right? But it goes to a bank where that person can find a match recipient, but it only works if there is basically an altruistic donor.”
The idea to donate a kidney first came to Eisenberg, a non-religious, secular Jew, about a decade ago, but his attempts to turn it into a reality went unanswered.
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During a recent conversation with a friend who is a medical doctor, Eisenberg brought it up again. This time, the idea got off the ground; she recommended the actor contact NYU Langone Health in New York City.
“I was in the hospital the next day and went through a battery of tests,” said Eisenberg.
When asked why he was so eager to donate not only his blood but also an organ, “The Social Network” star said he doesn’t know what motivates him, but that he “really” likes doing it.
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