Here's a story that will probably go largely unnoticed due to the fact that it's summer: A man needed a kidney transplant; his uncle was a match. Meanwhile, a woman's son prepared to donate his kidney to her. It was then discovered that the son was a better match for the nephew, and coincidentally, the uncle happened to match the mother.

It would be a strange enough, Reader's Digest-worthy story in any case, but is all the more noteworthy because it involves a former president of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s president from 1987 to 2005, Father Malloy volunteered earlier this year to donate a kidney to Rorapaugh, 41. The son of Father Malloy’s sister Joanne, Rorapaugh learned two years ago that he has severe kidney dysfunction, and he has been on dialysis three times weekly ever since.

After no match was found among several of Rorapaugh’s immediate family members, Father Malloy – who goes by the nickname “Monk” – began to consider becoming a donor. He thought that at age 67 he would be considered too old, but after going through a wide array of tests, it was determined that he is in excellent health, and he learned on April 11 that he was approved to go forward as a donor for his nephew.

In recent weeks, however, the transplantation took on a new twist when doctors realized that a man who had hoped to donate a kidney to his mother was a better match for Rorapaugh, and, fortuitously, that Father Malloy was a match for the man’s mother.

(read the whole story here)