A kidney, a friendship and a whole lot of kindness. Kearsney Deputy Head donates kidney to save former student’s life.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (03 April 2025) – Last week, something truly extraordinary happened, a moment that reminds us how deeply people can care for each other, even across decades. Marc Ancillotti, Deputy Head at Kearsney College, underwent surgery to donate a kidney to his friend, Justin Fletcher… a former student he once taught at Michaelhouse 25 years ago.
It’s the kind of story that gives you goosebumps, a story that reminds us what love, friendship and human decency can look like in their purest form.
Justin, who was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, had been told he had just 12 months to find a kidney. At the time, his wife Gaylyn was four months pregnant with their daughter and their lives were thrown into a terrifying spiral of uncertainty.
“My husband was told he had 12 months to find a kidney, to save his life. I was four months pregnant at the time. Our world was never going to be the same again,” she shared.
But then came Marc.
“I first read a ‘plea for help’ on a Michaelhouse Old Boys circular… I read the post and felt God calling me, saying, ‘You got this. Stand up and step forward’. I have never felt so convicted in my life to do something,” Marc wrote in a heartfelt post.
From that moment, Marc never looked back. He faced medical tests, allergic reactions, setbacks and bureaucratic delays. He kept showing up. He kept pushing forward.
“There were so many challenges,” he explained. “I failed tests, my blood pressure readings were out… the blood pressure monitor ‘broke’… I had to carry a 5L canister around at work… but I always knew it would happen.”
And it did.
On the 26th of March 2025, Marc gave a literal piece of himself so that Justin could live the life he deserved — as a husband, a father and the incredible human who lights up every room.
In a bid to ease the overwhelming medical costs, a crowdfunding campaign was launched through BackaBuddy. South Africans from all walks of life rallied together, raising an incredible R654,000 out of the R690,000 target. Proof that kindness still moves mountains.
Why does this matter? Because it’s a reminder that we still live among everyday heroes. That someone can look at an old schoolboy connection and say, “Yes, I’ll give you a part of myself so you can live.” Because Marc didn’t just give an organ… he gave a daughter her dad, a wife her husband, and a community their friend.
As Gaylyn so beautifully put it: “Justin is the epitome of goodness and kindness… his joy is infectious, his heart wide open. He now faces the biggest challenge of his life. And yet, even in the midst of it all, he still manages to smile, to love, to put others before himself.”
And now? There’s hope. There’s healing. There’s the promise of a future.
“I’ll never ever be able to thank Marc enough,” Gaylyn said. “But what I can promise him is that for the rest of my life, I will be kind. I will help other people feel special and loved and I will continuously let them know that they are enough… and I will pay it forward. Forever.”
That’s the legacy of this story, not just a successful surgery, but a ripple of kindness that will keep spreading.
Marc ended his note with one final wish: “Be kind. And help other people to feel special, and to feel loved, and to know that they are enough. That they have always been enough… and help them to feel so overwhelmed with love and kindness, like I feel now, that they just need to pay it forward.”
What a world we get to live in where people like Marc exist. Where love wins. Where kindness keeps showing up. And where, thanks to a kidney and an unbreakable friendship, the good things just keep on coming.
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