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Before you fill out your nomination for Teacher of the Year, you should hear about Jennifer Mazzotta-Perretti, who donated a kidney to one of her students. We think she's got this year's vote locked up.

On September 3, the Long Island woman gave one of her kidneys to a former pupil. (Not even a real fall or spring semester student, but a summer creative-writing class student. Nuts, right?)

The tale began a few years ago during a class discussion about doing good deeds. Kevin O'Brien, now 19, asked his then-teacher Jennifer, "Would you give life to someone else if you didn't have to give up your own? She said yes, she would.

Then he asked if she would donate one of her kidneys -- to him. Again, she said yes. (That's one ballsy kid. We barely have enough courage to ask a cute co-worker to be Facebook friends.)

Kevin had undergone numerous surgeries, including a failed transplant, since the age of 3, when a complication from having blood drawn led to renal problems.

All seems to be fine now that super human being Jennifer Mazzotta-Perretti gave Kevin her kidney. We think it's safe to say that Jennifer deserves tenure.

Giving Life
Organ donations using living donors are increasingly common, as the list of patients in need of new organs continues to grow. Docs say it's rare for non-relatives to be such good matches, but it certainly does happen. Recently a cab driver gave a kidney to a woman he'd met while driving her to treatments.

Last week, a San Diego hospital announced that it had successfully performed a "paired-donor transplant." Patti Ford needed a kidney. Her husband Patrick wanted to donate, but wasn't a match. A donor coordinator put her in touch with Robyn and Paul Bryan -- Paul needed a kidney, but Robyn wasn't a match. The blood types aligned, so Robyn gave Patti one of her kidneys and Patrick gave Paul one of his.

What about you? Would you give a kidney to an acquaintance? How about a stranger?

More from around the web:
Living with a kidney transplant (MyKidney.com)
How do you break baby news to an infertile friend? (Lemondrop)

money What items to splurge on; where to save (Lemondrop)


Local news segments gone horribly wrong (nsfw) (Cracked)