Tennessee police officer donates kidney to sergeant
He's always been willing to help people in need, and Officer Eric Crowder went the extra mile on Tuesday when he donated a kidney to his friend and mentor, Sgt. Chip Davis.
The men both work for the La Vergne Police Department in Tennessee, and after Davis, 40, found out in March 2014 that he had kidney failure and would likely spend three to five years on the kidney donor waiting list, Crowder, 32, jumped into action and was tested. He was a match, and the men are now recovering after a successful transplant in Nashville. They are expected to return to work in eight weeks.
Davis' wife, Kelly, told Today she was "in shock" after Crowder announced he was offering to donate his kidney. "It was kind of hard to believe," she said. "You hear about family members doing that, but as far as friends…it was overwhelming." Crowder's wife, Devin, said it came as no surprise to her; both couples have two daughters around the same age, and Crowder couldn't imagine Davis' daughters growing up without him. "His family raised him to give the shirt off his back, and that's how I was raised," she said. "So to us, it was: Are you healthy? Can you make it? Do you have any disease in your family background that could hinder you later in life? If not, let's do this."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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