From ‘Star Wars’ to Surgery | A Real Hero’s Story [Video]

In February 2023, 16-year-old Drew and his family learned he would need a kidney transplant. From that moment, they were on a desperate search for a kidney donor that could be a match.

His father, Josh, decided to take to Facebook to see if there was anyone out there who would get tested. And it worked—someone did get tested and was a match.

That hero wasn’t from a galaxy far, far away — but instead from Athens, Ohio. Melvin Woods would be Drew’s kidney donor. And Josh knew him all along. They were both members of the 501st Legion, a charitable Star Wars costume group.

To support Drew and Melvin on the day of the transplant, dozens of members of the 501st Legion gathered in costume to escort them to surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Josh hopes Melvin’s actions will encourage others to get tested. He said, “I’m hoping that this will be a call. Just getting tested isn’t going to cost you anything, but it could save somebody’s life.”

For more information on our Transplant Program: https://bit.ly/3JAjkA9

To learn more about Nephrology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital: https://bit.ly/49NI2ru