Real Reason Why This 25-Year-Old Guy Donated His Kidney to An Unknown Girl In Israel

When I saw this story two days ago, my first thought was 'he's after something', 'he must be kidding me', and 'maybe it's one of those fame seekers', but when my mother-in-the-Lord posted it on my Whatsapp, I decided to check the authenticity of the story. What I found will shock you to the bone marrow!!!

His name is Smith Jadesimi and he's from Nigeria, and yes, he honestly donated a kidney to an Israeli young woman he had never met before through the NGO Matnat Chaim.

Trust me, this is not the first line of a joke, but a celebration of a gift of life. When Smith Jadesimi, a tall and athletic 25-year-old from Nigeria, first approached his country’s Israeli Embassy in Abuja about his desire to donate a kidney to an Israeli, he was politely but firmly turned away with the fact that, “We don’t want [those who have fallen on hard times] and want to donate their kidneys for money; we’re only seeking altruistic donations.”

This guy is not looking for money. He was born in 1987 into a large, prosperous and highly educated family, residing in the oil-rich Delta State (population four million) of Nigeria. After public school, he graduated from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and holds two master’s degrees, one in statistics and another in computer engineering.

“I figured that God isn't a fool to give us two kidneys if we only need one, so we’re supposed to give one away to the needy,” he said. “Love isn’t... just in your heart, you have to do something to show you love others. And not just someone you know, not selfish, someone beyond your circle. If you have $10 billion and a kidney problem, all of your money can’t solve the problem – only a donor can.”

The recipient, he learned, would be Omaima Halabi, 21, a recently graduated law student from the Druse town of Daliat al-Carmel outside Haifa. Jadesimi had never heard of the Druse. The surgery was arranged for December 18 at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center.

“Our parents read the Bible with us every morning,” he says. “They stressed the value of love. You can believe in something, obey the commandments, keep the Sabbath holy, but love is the greatest motivator. If you really love, you won’t steal or covet your neighbor’s wife.” His parents attended an Anglican church, but Jadesimi preferred a more evangelical approach and joined the Lagos branch of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, which he says has literally millions of members.

“I wasn’t afraid; It was a mission with God on my side. I had peace of heart.”

He met Halabi, a pretty young woman with shoulder- length dark hair parted in the middle. He was amazed that he’d be able to give her another chance at a normal life. She’d already been suffering from kidney failure for a year and a half, and had a bleak future without a kidney. Omaima’s father, educator Farah Halabi, heard about the rabbi from the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem and his kidney-donating organization from the hospital staff where his daughter was being treated.

He contacted Heber.

On the day of the surgery, Christian prayers were offered in Nigeria, Jewish prayers in Jerusalem, and Druse prayers in Haifa. “We were all praying for the same thing,” noted Heber. The surgeons detached and removed Halabi’s kidney, replacing it with one of Jadesimi’s. They connected the tubes and voila… the kidney started to work.

Jadesimi says he felt pretty good after the surgery, and was eager to leave the hospital so he could observe Christmas. Farah Halabi, Omaima’s dad, offered Jadesimi a ride to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. “I had to be careful of the stitches and couldn’t kneel after the surgery,” says Jadesimi. Halabi had a word with the priest. “I was given a VIP seat,” recounts Jadesimi.

“Imagine, a VIP seat in Nazareth.”

Heber doesn’t allow payment or even extravagant gifts to donors, but he approved of the Halabi family’s offer to make a “Christmas” thanksgiving dinner. They’d do it Druse-style, with grilled meat and abundant salads. The mayor of Daliat al-Carmel would be there, the Druse elders, relatives and Rabbi Heber, too.

A packaged meal from the religious kibbutz Nir Etzion was ordered for him.

“I’m so grateful – to my donor Smith Jadesimi, to my family, to Rabbi Heber,” said Omaima Halabi at the feast. “This was certainly arranged in heaven.”