MN teacher's unexpected gift saves veteran awaiting new kidney

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man who spent five years on dialysis and encountered setbacks in his journey to find a kidney got a surprise from his son’s teacher.

What do we know?

Mike Boyd, of Bemidji, was profiled in a FOX News story in 2023 about veterans waiting for kidney transplants. His son Cole shared a link to the story with his fourth-grade teacher, who wanted to help but couldn’t. 

"I got evaluated, found out we weren’t a match, and I thought, ‘Alright, I tried,’" said MacKenzie Burnham, a teacher at Bemidji Area Schools.

She then learned that there was a workaround. If she donated her kidney to someone else, Boyd would get a kidney from someone who matched.

"My actual kidney went to the East Coast, and he received [one] from a young lady — also a teacher, I found out — in Minnesota," she said.

The reveal

The surgery happened at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis in June. But Burnham never told the Boyd family she initiated the process. Boyd’s wife thought she recognized her in the hallway at the hospital, but assumed she was mistaken.

"She went past me, and I think she was in a bed or in a chair and was pushed past me and I was like, ‘No, that can’t be — that can’t be Kenzie,’" said Kate Boyd.

Burnham sent the family a letter when they returned home, revealing herself as the one who made it happen.

"I didn’t need the thanks," she said. "The biggest thanks I could get is knowing that he’s healthy, happy and with his family."

Context

Nationwide, more than 90,000 people are on the waitlist for kidney transplants, more than a dozen of whom die each day. Anyone interested in donating a kidney for a veteran can visit DOVE's website at www.dovetransplant.org.