Stranger donates kidney to DeKalb County police officer

A DeKalb County police officer has a new lease on life, thanks to a stranger with a huge heart. 

Detective Charles Flood was in dire need of a new kidney and pleaded on social media for more than a year, hoping to find a donor. He was preparing for dialysis when Patrick Dudra contacted him.

Dudra, an Office Depot assistant store manager in Atlanta, had been on a quest to find an opportunity to donate his kidney after losing a good friend to kidney failure several years ago. 

“When it came time to make the decision to donate my kidney, I wasn’t nervous and I wasn’t scared. I just kept thinking, this is it, the moment I’ve waited years for,” Dudra said.

Several months later, after the screening process was complete, Dudra confirmed he was a compatible match to donate his kidney to Flood. 

The kidney transplant surgery took place on March 10. According to an Office Depot news release, Flood is recovering with a "promising prognosis." 

“For the first time in a long time, I have the brightest outlook on my future,” Detective Flood said. “Patrick not only gave me a new kidney, but a new life and the opportunity to be present for my family and continue to serve my community. I will forever be grateful for him.”

Dudra is also doing well and has since returned to work, where he received the "Office Depot Hero Award" at the company's annual retail business meeting. 

"I often look back, and I think, the real hero in this story is Charles," Dudra said. "It was more heroic for him to ask a perfect stranger for help, knowing that’s what he needed to do to be there for his family long term.”