In the latest hockey romance to grace the silver screen, 28-year-old Belmont Cameli is seen shirtless on a myriad of occasions. As the main male lead of the first season of “Off Campus,” Cameli plays Garrett Graham, a college hockey star who viewers watch fall in love.
And eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice that the actor has two scars on the right side of his abdomen.
As it turns out, they are the result of Cameli’s decision to donate a kidney in 2018.
The story starts when Cameli’s childhood friend, Brendan Flaherty went into kidney failure and needed dialysis every day. Cameli volunteered to be tested as a donor, but unfortunately was not a compatible match.
Instead of giving up, he joined a paired kidney exchange program, in which incompatible donor-recipient pairs are matched with others in similar strangers. Cameli ended up donating his kidney to a stranger as part of a 14-person transplant chain, saving seven lives.
“Yesterday, I was blessed with the opportunity to and privilege to save a life,” Cameli shared in a 2018 Instagram post that has recently resurfaced.
“The fact of the matter is that most of us have two good kidneys, but thousands of people struggle to live day to day with only one failing kidney,” he wrote. “Every day, 20 people die waiting for a kidney transplant. It takes patients an average of 3.5 years on the waitlist before receiving a transplant, and that is only if they are so fortunate.”
In his caption, Cameli went on to add that after six years of waiting, his friend was gifted the organ he needed — and Cameli’s new friend Clotilde “will finally have a healthy kidney and a fresh new start to life.”
“I am so grateful to be a part of this swap program involving 14 people and blessing seven patients with new organs and brighter futures,” he concluded. “Soon my pain will disappear, and my scars will fade away, but the love in my heart from this experience will forever remain.”
As Cameli has gained popularity from his role in “Off Campus,” and his kidney donation story has made the rounds, the National Kidney Foundation has taken the opportunity to remind people that they can become living organ donors, too.
“More than 90,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for a kidney transplant. Many will wait years for a deceased donor kidney, and some may become too sick before a kidney becomes available,” the organization shared in a recent blog post.
The National Kidney Foundation also added that kidneys from living donors often last longer than a deceased donor kidney, work immediately after transplant, allow surgery to happen sooner, and improve survival and quality of life.
“As Cameli’s story shows, one decision can impact far more people than expected,” the foundation concluded.
“A single living donor can spark a chain reaction that reaches multiple families, communities, and future generations.”
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Header image courtesy of Prime Video
