First grade teacher a perfect match for student in need of kidney

First grade teacher Lindsey Painter goes above and beyond for her classroom. So much so that she is donating a kidney to one of her ill students.

When Matthew Parker, a first grader at Hoffman Lane Elementary in New Braunfels, Texas, found out he needed a new kidney, over 70 people from the school tested to see if they were a suitable donor. But, as it turns out, Painter was the only match.

"The nurse at the hospital said we had to be realistic," Matthew's mother Lisa said in a press release from the school. "The term, 'Needle in a haystack,' was used several times."

Painter was shocked when she tested and learned she was a possible donor for her young student. "It never occurred to me that I could help him," Painter said. "When they asked for people to volunteer to be tested, I was the first one to sign up. I was shocked when I received the phone call that I was a preliminary match."

The surgery is set to take place next month.

"It was quite a lot to process," said Painter. "They make sure you know what you're getting into as a living donor. There will be up to six weeks recovery time, and I have two young sons of my own at home so I had to consider my family. But the more I learned about it, the more I wanted to do it. Now I'm so excited I will be Matthew's donor."

Matthew currently only attends school two days per week while being home-schooled so he can receive dialysis treatment. But the school's principal Krista Moffatt says that when Matthew is able to make it to school, his positive attitude brightens up the entire classroom.

"He loves being at our campus and being around his brothers and the other students," Moffatt said. "He has a smile and a giggle that just lights up this entire school, and everyone here loves him."

This will be Matthew's second kidney transplant. The first was in 2010 when he was just 3 years old. But just over a year ago, Matthew's body began to reject the new kidney.

A fund has been set up to help Painter supplement her salary, medical costs and other expenses as she prepares and recovers from the treatment. So far, over $12,000 of the fund's $20,000 goal has been raised.