They Just Met Last Week. She's Giving Him a Kidney

Police officer saw boy's story on Facebook
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2017 5:58 PM CDT

When Wisconsin police officer Lindsey Bittorf saw a Facebook post from a nearby mother begging for a kidney donor for her 8-year-old son, she knew she needed to try to help—even though she'd never met the family. The 30-year-old got tested to see if she was a match, and says doctors were "shocked" she was such a good one, considering she's not related to the boy, Jackson Arneson. "This is seriously, like, meant to be," she tells WISN. "It’s going to be me." Last week, Bittorf showed up at Jackson's home to surprise his family with the good news, ABC News reports. She told Jackson's mom, Kristi Goll, it was an "early Mother's Day gift," GazetteXtra reports.

"I took an oath to serve and protect our community, and now my kidney’s going to serve and protect you," she told Jackson, who was born with a kidney condition known as Posterior Urethral Valves. Goll went on Facebook after family and friends got tested and none turned out to be a match. "I always knew these days would come, it’s just so hard when they are here," she said in her December post explaining that Jackson's kidney function was decreasing and he was in need of a donor. Bittorf, who is also a mom, says simply, "I would hope that someone would save my child's life" if needed. The transplant surgery is scheduled for June 22. (Other kidney donors have been found via messages on the side of an SUV, Reddit, and even Tinder.)

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