Tim Letts got talking to Bill Sumiel while driving for Uber.
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An Uber driver donated a kidney to one of his passengers after talking during a ride, 6abc reported.
Army veteran Tim Letts offered his kidney to Bill Sumiel after he opened up about his situation.
Sumiel said Letts’ offer “floored me” and he felt “so fortunate” to have the gift of life.
Some Uber drivers like to talk to their passengers, and some prefer to concentrate on the road. Bill Sumiel will be forever grateful that his driver fancied a chat on a journey one day in 2021.
He’d been to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware for a dialysis appointment, 6abc Action News reported.
On his Uber ride home to Salem, New Jersey, Sumiel told the driver, Tim Letts, about his medical condition and his urgent need for a new kidney.
“When he pulled up in front of my house about 40 minutes later, Tim says ‘if you’ll take my name and number, I’d like to donate a kidney to you,” Sumiel told the broadcaster.
“That about floored me. I was shaking so hard I couldn’t even write down his name and number.”
The 33-year-old Army veteran was true to his word and a transplant operation took place successfully last year, per 6abc.
—Action News on 6abc (@6abc) February 12, 2023
“Giving a kidney is actually the gift of life and I feel so fortunate to have that gift,” Sumiel told 6abc. “I know miracles have happened in the past. I really had those beliefs reinforced.”
Letts now lives in Germany, but he and Sumiel both told the outlet they were friends for life and intend to stay in touch.
Uber didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.