Jesse Eisenberg has revealed that he is donating a kidney to a stranger next month. The actor and director told NBC’s Today that he was “donating my kidney in six weeks” but wasn’t entirely sure of his motivation.
“I don’t know why,” he said. “I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I’m doing an altruistic donation [in] mid-December. I’m so excited to do it.”
Eisenberg, 42, added that he had first had the idea of organ donation while still alive around a decade ago but only recently set the process in motion. “It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” he said. “I think people will realise that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”
He further explained the process of matching donors and recipients, saying: “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. That person can still get my kidney and hopefully that child of that person still donates 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.”
Celebrities who are known to have donated organs while still living are thin on the ground, although it is believed Natasha Richardson, Jerry Orbach and Dr Rajkumar became donors after their death. In 2017, the actor and singer Selena Gomez was the recipient of a kidney from her friend, Francia Raisa. Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Neil Simon and Tina Turner also received donor kidneys.
More than 100,000 people are currently on the transplant list in the US, with around 12 people dying each day because of organ shortage. In the UK, 8,186 people – a record number – are currently on the list, with a further almost 4,000 temporarily suspended but still in need of a transplant. Meanwhile, donor numbers in the UK are falling, with living donors now accounting for around 40% of donations – primarily kidneys.
Eisenberg has credited his wife, the teacher and charity worker Anna Strout, for much of his own idealism and activism. Her late mother ran a domestic violence shelter, of which Eisenberg and Strout have been energetic supporters.
Earlier this year, Eisenberg was Oscar-nominated for his screenplay for A Real Pain, which earned the best supporting actor award for Kieran Culkin. He is currently promoting the third in the Now You See Me magician heist series.
Last week Eisenberg said his non-involvement in the sequel to The Social Network had “nothing to do” with the film’s script, which has been written by Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote the original. Jeremy Strong will take over the role of Mark Zuckerberg.
