By India McCarty
OFF CAMPUS star Belmont Cameli wanted to donate a kidney to a friend. Instead, he ended up saving someone else’s life.
“Yesterday I was blessed with the opportunity and privilege to save a life,” Cameli posted on Instagram in 2018. “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. 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.”
Cameli initially wanted to donate his kidney to childhood friend Brendan Flaherty, but the pair were not a match. Eventually, the actor’s kidney would end up going to Clotilde Ruiz, a woman he had never met.
“Thankfully, after 6 years of strenuous waiting and anticipation, Brendan has been gifted the organ he has so long awaited, and my new friend Clotilde will finally have a healthy kidney and a fresh new start to life,” Cameli’s post continued. “I am so grateful to be a part of this swap program involving 14 people and blessing 7 patients with new organs and brighter futures. Soon my pain will disappear and my scars will fade away, but the love in my heart from this experience will forever remain.”
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Per The Daily Mail, Cameli said of the donation, “I’ve made a lot of selfish decisions in my life. I thought that this would be a really great opportunity to kind of amend those decisions.”
Cameli is currently starring in Amazon Prime Video’s OFF CAMPUS, a TV show that follows college students Hannah and Garrett (Cameli), a music student and hockey player, respectively, who strike up a relationship. The show is based on a popular series of books written by Elle Kennedy.
“I don’t know that I personally felt any pressure,” Cameli told Deadline of bringing a beloved book series to the screen. “I felt very grateful to be in the position. I thought it was important for myself and for Ella [Bright, who plays Hannah] to set the tone for set culture and morale.”
Cameli’s kidney donation shows the actor is a hero, both on and off screen!
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