The 'ultimate act of love'

TheSpec | Joanna Frketich

Steve Hunt gave his kidney to a stranger and in return the stranger's friend gave a kidney to his 23-year-old son.

It's Hamilton's first and only four-way transplant, performed earlier this year at St. Joseph's Hospital.

It's all the more exceptional because the strangers agreed to the swap out of the goodness of their hearts.

They could have gone ahead with their transplant on their own. But Hunt's son Jesse was down to five per cent kidney function and the friend was an exact match. The friend agreed to give a kidney to Jesse instead and the other patient took Hunt's kidney.

“It's the ultimate act of love,” said Jesse about the sacrifice both his father and the strangers made. Soon Jesse and his dad, who live in Burlington, will decide if they want to meet the other pair, who are in Guelph. The four were told they'd be given the option of getting to know each other one year after the transplant. That anniversary is Feb. 2.

Read more: http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/641955--the-ultimate-act-of-love