McCarthy Takes a Heroic Stand to End Kidney Donor Search for His Student, Roman
Going beyond his role as a geometry teacher to impart life-changing kindness, McCarthy steps forward to donate a kidney to 15-year-old Roman. Roman, a high school sophomore, battles branchiootorenal (BOR) syndrome, a condition affecting the neck’s tissue development and causing ear and kidney malformations.
Roman’s mother, Jamie Reed, disclosed in an interview with The Monroe News that BOR syndrome, inherited from his father, Dan McCormick, led to surgeries at 6 months and 4 years old. Despite these challenges, Roman’s kidney function deteriorated over time, reaching stage 4 kidney failure. Faced with the choice of a transplant or dialysis, the family opted for the former, initiating a media campaign in February 2023 to find a matching kidney donor.
Responding to Roman’s plea for a donor, McCarthy, moved by compassion, underwent testing to determine compatibility. In an interview with WTVG, McCarthy shared, “I saw Roman in the news in February, and I saw that he needed a kidney, and so the next day, I went and got tested. I wasn’t even sure what my blood type was.”
After five months of testing, McCarthy discovered he was a perfect match for Roman. The transplant surgery, scheduled for July 19, 2023, at the University of Michigan University Hospital in Ann Arbor, fills McCarthy with profound excitement as he eagerly anticipates the opportunity to help his student.