Jesse Eisenberg is about to make one of the most selfless moves of his life. The actor and director revealed on NBC’s Today that he’s donating one of his kidneys to a stranger next month.
“I’m donating my kidney in six weeks,” the 42-year-old said, adding that he’s not even sure what exactly pushed him to do it. “I don’t know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I’m doing an altruistic donation mid-December. I’m so excited to do it.”
Eisenberg said he first thought about donating an organ about ten years ago, but only recently started the process. “It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” he explained. “I think people will realize that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”
He also described how the matching system works for donors and recipients. “Let’s say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City and their child or whoever was going to donate to them is, for whatever set of reasons, not a match, but somehow I am,” he said. “That person can still get my kidney, and hopefully that child of that person will still donate their kidney, right? But it goes to a bank where that person can find a match recipient, but it only works if there is basically an altruistic donor.”
It’s a rare thing for celebrities to donate organs while they’re alive. Most organ donations from well-known figures, like Natasha Richardson, Jerry Orbach, and Dr. Rajkumar, happened after their deaths. One of the few high-profile living donations was in 2017, when Selena Gomez’s friend Francia Raisa gave her a kidney. Others, including Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Neil Simon, and Tina Turner, have been recipients of donated kidneys, according to RWJ Barnabas Health.
Right now, more than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants, and about 12 people die every day because of the shortage. The UK is also facing a growing crisis, with a record 8,186 people on the transplant list and nearly 4,000 more temporarily suspended but still in need. Living donors now make up roughly 40% of all donations, most of them kidneys, but the overall number of donors has been falling.
Eisenberg credits his wife, Anna Strout, for inspiring much of his idealism. Strout, a teacher and charity worker, is the daughter of a woman who ran a domestic violence shelter. Eisenberg and Strout have been deeply involved in supporting that cause and others over the years.
Earlier this year, Eisenberg was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay A Real Pain, which also earned Kieran Culkin a Best Supporting Actor award. He’s currently promoting Now You See Me 3, the latest in the magician heist series.
Just last week, Eisenberg addressed his absence from the sequel to The Social Network, saying it had “nothing to do” with the script by Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote the original. Jeremy Strong will take over the role of Mark Zuckerberg.
For now, though, Eisenberg seems focused on something far more personal. His upcoming kidney donation may not be for fame or recognition—but it’s likely to save a life.