Rotarian Scott Dudley gives the thumbs up after surgery to donate a kidney to someone he had just met.

A series of coincidences brought Rotarian Scott Dudley and Phil Rosario together. 

On 16 May, Scott, a member of the Rotary Club of North Whidbey Island Sunrise, Washington, USA, donated one of his kidney’s to Phil, who he had met only a week before. 

Both Scott and Phil are doing fine following the procedure. Phil underwent a second surgery to correct minor complications from the transplant.

In the words of Scott, the events leading up to the transplant were “a God thing.” 

Scott is an assistant governor for District 5050, which is made up of clubs from the United States and Canada, and was scheduled to go to Haiti on a service trip. But the trip was cancelled, so as the district’s membership chair, he decided to visit clubs in British Columbia instead. 

While visiting the Rotary Club of Haney, he heard Phil’s wife, Keesha, a member of the club, make an impassioned plea for her husband. Phil was on a long waiting list for a kidney and because of his rare blood type, faced the prospect of a decade or more wait for an organ. 

Members of Scott’s family had suffered from kidney disease, and he had made up his mind that he would donate his kidney to someone while he was still alive. So true to form, he said, “let’s make this happen.” 

Scott and Phil have formed a new friendship where the bonds will remain strong throughout both of their lives. 

This is more than “Service above Self.” This is a gift of life and one that resonates around the Rotary World. Where else would you find someone who is willing to donate a kidney because, as Scott says, “Where there is a human need, there are no borders.” That is the true Rotary Spirit and we all wish both of them well.

Watch a local news report of the kidney transplant.