The Associated Press reports that East Haven, Conn. mayor Capone Almon recently used Facebook for more than connecting with constituents or campaigning for re-election. On April 8, Almon donated one of her kidneys to a Facebook friend in need.
Carlos Sanchez, a 44-year-old father who “barely knew” Almon, received the kidney during a procedure at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Sanchez, whose kidneys were failing from the effects of diabetes, posted a Facebook status update at the suggestion of his doctor after not being able to find a match from friends and family. He was surprised when Almon was the first person to reply that she would get tested and stunned when she was a match.
“I thought she was joking. The mayor of East Haven would offer me her kidney?” said Sanchez, an office administrator. “She responded back and said, ‘I am serious, I am willing to get tested.’
“I wasn’t putting too much faith in it,” he said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes high. But at a point she made me feel so comfortable that I started feeling maybe this was meant to be.”