Jesuit High Alumnus Donates Kidney to Fellow Alum

Jesuit High School of Sacramento alumni continue to live as “men for others” long after graduation. A recent dramatic example: Elliot Williams ’06 donated a kidney to fellow alumnus Sean Merold ’98.

Merold suffers from a debilitating kidney disease called IgA nephropathy, and his kidneys were functioning at only 7 percent capacity.

Williams, who is also Merold’s co-worker at a real estate firm, had Type B blood like Merold, and Merold’s white cells didn’t reject those of Williams. As if the two were brothers, Williams passed every test to determine if he was a match for Merold. When Williams told Merold he was willing to donate his kidney, they became as close as brothers.

“I had a true moment where I had an opportunity to do something,” said Williams, who drew inspiration from his father-in-law’s donation of a kidney to his sister-in-law, who suffered the same disease as Merold.

“At Jesuit, one of the key phrases is, ‘Live your life to be a man for others,’” Williams said. “That came back to me and I just drew off that – giving of yourself to improve someone else’s life.”

For Merold, it’s been a life-changing experience. “It proves there are good people out there. He didn’t have to do this,” Merold said. [The Sacramento Bee]