Fla. fire inspector donates kidney to fire captain

Hillsborough County Fire Inspector Sharri Dufresne "didn't think twice" before making the donation to her colleague Capt. Jeff Hewett

By Laura French

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida fire captain has been released from the hospital after receiving a kidney transplant from his colleague.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Jeff Hewett searched for more than a year for a donor before learning that he was a match with his colleague, Fire Inspector Sharri Dufresne, in January, according to the Facebook page "Kidney for Captain Jeff Hewett."

"He badly needed to find a donor, and after Sharri found out she was a match, she didn't think twice!" according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

The department reported that the surgery last Wednesday was a success; Dufresne was released from the hospital three days after the surgery, and Hewett was discharged on Sunday.

"We thought Jeff would need a week more, but was doing so well he was discharged today!" the department said in a Facebook post. "What a fantastic ending to this story!"

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