NBCNow here's some valid proof that there are real-life superheroes among us.
A Hooters waitress at the Roswell, Ga., location by the name of Mariana Villarreal began making headlines after her extremely selfless deed hit the Internet—the young server donated one of her kidneys to longtime customer Don Thomas, who had lost both of his kidneys.
"Mariana had only been here a short time," Thomas explained to the local NBC News affiliate. "I just barely knew her when she made the offer."
"I said, 'Well I have two kidneys, do you want one of mine?'" Villarreal said. It was an offer he couldn't refuse. Thomas added, "My reply was, 'I will accept it.'"
And just like that, she gave him the gift of life.
As wonderfully gracious as this is, some might find it peculiar seeing how the two barely know each other, but Villarreal explained that she felt like this was coming from a higher calling. Especially since she had recently lost her grandmother to kidney failure.
"I wasn't able to do anything for my grandma," Mariana said, "If [Don] can live two more years, happy as he's ever been, that's fine with me. That's not up to me. I did my part, now it's God's turn to keep him alive."
"You can live your whole life with one just kidney," Dr. Harrison Pollinger, one of the program directors of the Piedmont Transplant Institute, said, "You only need one kidney for normal kidney function."
The surgery occurred this morning, and according to the report, both are doing OK and in post-op recovery.
"Mariana and I are just two normal people," Thomas said, "one who needs help—me—and Mariana who is so willing to give help."