We all interact with people in our day-to-day lives that we never expect to meet again: a clerk at the mall, a bus driver or the person sitting next to you on an airplane. But what if one of those strangers turned out to be the most important person in your life? This is the story of how someone from a police officer’s past ended up saving his life.

We also speak to Dr. Naomi Grant, professor of social psychology at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta. Dr. Grant talks about the psychological impact of helping a stranger in such an enormous way as well as how helping others, even in small ways, can benefit our own mental health.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million people in the U.S., and another 80 million are at risk for kidney disease. And while about 100,000 people are waiting for a kidney donation in the U.S., only 22,817 received a transplant in 2020. Visit the National Kidney Foundation for more on kidney disease, kidney donation and other resources.