CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- For a science teacher who learned lessons about giving from her parents, donating one of her kidneys to a student fits in perfectly with her role as an educator.
"I think teachers as a whole give so much to their students," Jane Smith, 42, said Monday. "I think any teacher, when a child walks through their door, wants to give them a better life."Smith, a teacher at R. Max Abbott Middle School, was discharged from UNC Hospitals on Monday afternoon, three days after surgeons removed her left kidney and gave it to 15-year-old Michael Carter.
Smith and the surgeons who performed the transplant said at a hospital news conference that they hope others will be inspired to become organ donors.
"This is an incredible gift," said David Gerber, an assistant professor of surgery at UNC.
Carter's mother, Deborah Evans, said Smith was an answer to prayers.
"I've had to teach Michael about faith," she said. "Even in his bad days, he would say, 'Mommy, I'm still praying.' I think Michael has developed a very special relationship with Christ."
Evans said Carter, who endured two surgery postponements because of infections, is happier than she has ever seen him.
"I feel that everyone has a guardian angel. Some know theirs and some don't. I always felt that Ms. Smith was our guardian angel."
Carter will remain in the hospital a few more days and must take drugs to prevent his body from rejecting his new kidney, but doctors said he is doing well and could return to school within six months.