Ben Cell, a Cornell College alum and former resident of Mount Vernon, recently donated one of his kidneys to a complete stranger.
Cell said he had seen stories on strangers choosing to donate kidneys to people in need a few years ago, and always found the donation altruistic.
“It was something I always thought about doing, and it led to some discussions in the class I teach in Houston, Texas,” Cell said. “I would stream a PBS Newshour segment on the practice and have my classes go over that and have discussions.”
While donating a kidney has been in his mind for a while, he never took action to do so until this last year.
“It really crystallized in my mind to do this if I could, and I started researching what my insurance company would cover if I was to donate a kidney,” Cell said.
In the spring of 2022, the same afternoon of his search, there came a request for anyone who might know a donor to possibly donate to a rabbi in New York City looking for an organ.
“It was not where I originally intended to donate my kidney, but I reached out, and it turns out I was a match, so I was one of several donors that could have helped the rabbi,” Cell said.
As they did further tests, while Cell was a match, there were donors who were more compatible with the rabbi.
“I told the company, Renewal, that I was wanting to still donate my kidney, and they let me know that my further tests revealed I was a closer match to a retired school teacher named Gail in New York who was looking for a kidney,” Cell said.
Renewal paid for Cell’s travel expenses to New York City, where the procedure was to take place. He traveled there in late July, where they did more tests on him to make sure he and Gail were a complete match. Then, on Wednesday, July 27, he and Gail went into the hospital to have the donation completed.
Cell said the entire surgery was completed laparoscopically which meant a far less invasive surgery with one incision made near his belly button to take out the kidney.
“It was a few days inpatient recovery at the hospital, and almost a week or more of just recovering in New York City now,” Cell said. “If I get the all-clear from the doctors, I’ll be headed back to Houston in the next few days, where I’ll do more recovery.”
Cell said there were some issues with his digestive tract following the surgery, as it entailed shifting some of his organs to get at the kidney, and some minor pain, but otherwise, both he and Gail have been recovering fine. He said Gail immediately felt better after getting a functioning kidney, which is expected.
“You’re usually going from someone who has to be on dialysis to have toxins removed from their body to having a functioning kidney doing some of that work again,” Cell said.
While Cell and Gail did not communicate before the procedure, the two have now been communicating.
Cell grew up in Mount Vernon, graduating from Mount Vernon High School and Cornell College. Both his parents were heavily involved in the Mount Vernon community, his dad as a professor at Cornell College and his mother as a lobbyist in Des Moines for a number of years, among other jobs.
He is now a high school teacher at a Jewish private school in Houston, a career he ddidn’t necessarily expect to be completing, but one he enjoys.
“I studied philosophy in college and graduate school,” Cell said.
After his time at Cornell, Cell spent a year in Israel at a kibbutz. He was then drafted into thee Israeli Army for a year. He returned to the United States, where he attended graduate school at the New School of Philosophy in New York.
“At that time, I had some courses in personal training I was completing, and for the next few years, those were the jobs I had,” Cell said.
He was a personal trainer in New York, then Los Angeles, Calif., and then Denver, Colo.
From Denver, he ended up in Houston, where he completed his alternative teaching certificate. He taught at public schools in Houston and completed a year of teaching abroad in Brazil, and then returned to teach at Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston.
He teaches a range of humanities and social studies classes, including U.S. History, World History, psychology, sociology, U.S. Government, economics and philosophy.
Cell was originally a little reticent to talk about his donation, but he hopes that by sharing the story it will make other people consider possibly completing an organ donation themselves if they are able to do so, or think of other altruistic works they can do to help others.
“If I hadn’t heard about the rabbi needing a kidney right after I had started looking into what my insurance would cover, I might not have found out about Gail’s need and been able to make her life a little better,” Cell said. “If there’s a way you can make someone else’s life better or have a positive impact in someone else’s life, do so.”
He knows not everyone will be physically able to donate an organ, but says it is a very rewarding process.
“I also know there are many heroes who don’t do impressive feats like donate an organ, but they are there for people in small ways every day, and those people deserve attention and accolades as well,” Cell said. “It’s important for us as humans to help other people out if we can.”