Ellen DeGeneres surprises Twin Cities kidney donor.
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Stacey Elsenpeter, of Andover, got the Ellen DeGeneres treatment in a segment that aired today when the show surprised Elsenpeter, a single mom who participated in a parent-kidney exchange to find a match for her son, Zach, who was born with kidney failure.
Stacey wasn't a match to donate a kidney to her son, so she donated a kidney to a stranger, instead. Three years later, a stranger donated a kidney to Zach.
Elsepeter held a blood drive in 2015 to "give back" to the community, she said, because blood products kept her son alive until a kidney could be found.
Zach's father donated his kidney in 2004 -- when Zach was 11 months old -- but the kidney failed when he was 5.
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