This extraordinary act of selflessness was made by Matthew Deffebach, a partner at Texas law firm Haynes and Boone who donated a kidney to the son of a staffer at the firm. It’s all the more extraordinary because, until a request for help was sent out by another partner, Jonathan Wilson, Deffebach didn’t even know the secretary who’s son was ill.

The story was widely reported in the U.S.

Texas Lawyer Blog: After learning in November 2009 that the Dallas man who is in dire need of a kidney transplant is married and the father of a 6-year-old boy, Deffebach decided he would do some medical testing to see if he might be a good kidney donor. As it turned out, Deffebach’s kidney was a good match, and he’s healthy, so the lawyer agreed to donate his kidney. Deffebach says he’s going through the surgery because he couldn’t stand the thought of the man’s son growing up without a father. “I met him the day after I found out how bad his situation was,” Deffebach recalls.

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Since completing the operation both parties are understood to be doing well. The legal secretary, Iva York, was interviewed by U.S. blog Above the Law and had this to say:

The selfless act of Matt and his wife is just beyond words and is absolutely amazing- they worked together to give life to another. Jonathan Wilson got the ball rolling with his e-mail to his Partners in the Firm advising them of Mitch’s need, and the rest is history. No matter how we try to thank Jonathan and Matt, nothing seems to convey properly our gratitude and thanks. Faith in God and knowing God is in control is what brought all of this about and brought all of us together. My family is so indebted to Matt and his family, and now we are all one family. Talk about restoring your faith in humanity – WOW!

Matthew Deffebach also sent a message out to his firm which you can read at ATL.

True altruism.