Jesse Eisenberg has always been a big blood donor, but now he is taking his giving to another level by donating one of his kidneys to a stranger.
The “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” star shared live on the “TODAY” show on Thursday that he is making the selfless decision.
“I’m actually donating my kidney in six weeks,” he said. “I really am.”
The Oscar-nominated actor, 42, was asked what prompted his decision.
“I don’t know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I’m doing an altruistic donation (in) mid-December. I’m so excited to do it.”
An altruistic donation is when a person donates a kidney to a person with advanced kidney disease whom he or she does not know, according to RWJ Barnabas Health. The individuals are known as nondirected kidney donors because it’s not a kidney for a specific family member, friend or someone they know personally who needs a kidney.
“It’s essentially risk-free and so needed,” Eisenberg tells TODAY.com in a separate interview. “I think people will realize that it’s a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination.”
There is currently an organ donor shortage in the U.S., with about 90,000 people on the transplant list waiting for a kidney as of September 2024, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Eisenberg also shared his love for blood donation after Craig Melvin revealed that Eisenberg contributed to a “TODAY” blood drive in July.
“I just have so much blood in me, and I feel like I should spill it,” he joked. “I really like doing it, and I don’t know why.”