A local couple -- both altruistic living organ donors got to meet one of the recipients on Valentine's Day.
Steven Schmitz and his wife April Scott both decided to donate their kidneys after watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy about living organ donors.
The donor and recipient surgeries took place at Largo Medical Center.
Scott got to meet the man who she donated her kidney to on Valentine's day. She is considered an altruistic donor, which means she donated an organ without knowing the identify of the recipient.
In 2017, only 235 out of 5,811 living donors nationwide were altruistic donors.
Keshava Persaud, was in tears as he walked into a conference room to meet his donor, Scott.
Persaud says he was on dialysis for the past five years -- and was in desperate need of a kidney.
Persaud says he has an eight-year-old son who watched him struggle through the years,
"He was the one that gave me the courage and the strength each day to want to live again," he said.
Scott and Persaud sat and talked outside the hospital about the kidney, and what brought them both to this point.
"This is a life changing moment for me," said Persaud.
