A 36-year-old California woman suffering from a rare disease called renal vein compression was cured by giving away her troublesome kidney which was then transplanted into a former co-worker.

The unusual surgery was performed at Stanford University by Dr. Oscar Salvatierra, who removed the kidney from Teresa Proehl of Fremont and transplanted it into 61-year-old Wally Wong, who was on dialysis while waiting for a kidney to become available.

"Her kidney is happier in him than it was in her," said Salvatierra, who added that he has only seen three cases of the syndrome afflicting Proehl in 25 years, and never even heard of someone donating the bothersome kidney to someone in need.

The alternative Proel was facing was an operation to move the kidney away from the pinched vein. She said the idea to offer her kidney just "popped" into her head as Wong explained his condition one day in the office.

Other sources:San Jose Mercury News