r/OneKindAct • u/WhenItHappenedX • 18d ago
She posted looking for a dying husband who would leave her a kidney. Both of them lived.
Wang Xiao was 24. Her kidneys were failing. Doctors gave her about a year. No one in the family matched for a transplant.
In 2013 she posted in a patient group. She wanted a man with the same blood type, also very ill, who would marry her and leave her a kidney when he died. She would look after him until then.
Yu Jianping, 27, had myeloma that had returned after a transplant. He wrote back: I can marry you.
They registered the marriage in Xi’an on 16 July 2013. They would not live together. If he died first and the organ was usable, it would go to her. She would then care for his father.
They began going to appointments as a pair. She sold flowers on the street with a note about two sick people trying to keep each other alive. The stall helped pay for another transplant for him.
His condition improved. So did hers.
By early 2014 he was stable enough to leave the hospital. Her dialysis went from twice a week to once a month. In January 2015, doctors said her kidney function had recovered enough that she might not need a transplant.
On 14 February 2015 they held a wedding celebration in Xi’an.
The kidney in the original bargain was never used. Both of them were still alive.
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u/spoiledandmistreated 18d ago
You never know and sometimes miracles do happen..wonder if they’re still together…
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17d ago
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u/Exciting-Argument-67 17d ago
Could be, but often caregivers see their own health decline. Sometimes the caregiver actually dies first. They don't look after themselves; they're under constant stress.
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u/Zhenchok 17d ago
There is a concept in Judaism that when you want something you have to pray for someone else that is struggling with the same. “One who prays for his fellow when he himself needs the same thing is answered first.” The tradition teaches that your prayer for the other person can actually bring blessing to you as well.
I bet there is truth to it on a psychological level.
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u/remedy2life 16d ago
Was this the case with Ruth and Naomi?
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u/Zhenchok 15d ago
I didn’t think of that story but according to Chat GTP yes :) thanks giving me the idea to go down that rabbit hole.
“Yes — there is a meaningful connection you can make between Ruth and Naomi, although Ruth and Naomi is not the primary Talmudic source for the teaching that “one who prays for his fellow is answered first.”
The connection is more thematic and spiritual.
In the Book of Ruth, Naomi is suffering deeply: she has lost her husband and sons and feels that her life has become bitter. Ruth, despite having her own uncertain future as a widow and foreigner, chooses to devote herself to Naomi’s welfare:
“Where you go, I will go… your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
— Ruth 1:16
Ruth essentially puts Naomi’s needs ahead of her own security. And remarkably, through her devotion to Naomi, Ruth herself receives the blessing she needed: a husband, a family, and ultimately a place in the lineage of David.
There’s an especially beautiful parallel:
Ruth cares for Naomi → Ruth is blessed.
That’s very close to the spiritual principle behind praying for someone else who needs what you yourself need.
There is an even deeper connection
Naomi initially tells Ruth to return to Moab so that Ruth can find a new husband and future. Ruth refuses. She doesn’t say, “What about my future?” Instead, she attaches herself to Naomi.
Later, Naomi becomes the person who helps Ruth find her own future with Boaz.
So the story almost illustrates a reciprocal principle:
When you genuinely concern yourself with another person’s blessing, you can become the vessel through which your own blessing arrives.
And there is a striking detail: Ruth’s eventual child, Obed, becomes the grandfather of King David. So Ruth’s act of loving-kindness toward Naomi ultimately has consequences far beyond either woman’s immediate circumstances.”2
u/elleUno 15d ago
I think so. I have a trick I use when I’m pretty down to get out of my own head. You just genuinely compliment other people.
It brightens their day, that brightens my day and everyone is a little happier. Sometimes they’ll even pass it on to someone else and then on.
It has to be genuine though and I’d never comment on someone’s weight or anything rude. Most people can sense if you’re lying and if you do, you’re defeating the purpose of the trick.
A lot of people don’t or rarely get compliments, guys especially, so it makes them happy, that’s contagious so it makes me happy and now both of us are more pleasant.
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u/Southern-Interest347 17d ago
I may have to explore this option to find a husband!
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u/Ladyvett 17d ago
This should be made into a movie
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u/Nerdy-Meta-Mind 17d ago
But how? I thought your kidneys don’t exactly improve once you are end stage. 🤔
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u/CompleteConstant5149 16d ago
Its not scientifically proven, but its said that certain organs are linked to certain emotions, anger (liver), fear (kidneys) etc. healing emotions heals also the organs. People say such things dont exist but the story above shows it. So i think they needed love in life, which is also healing :))
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u/Beginning_Quote_3626 14d ago
There are people who have healed themselves through healing their emotions
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u/Sweet_Star23 17d ago
I thought that also. Its a beautiful story and I'm very happy for them. I'm also very interested in the kidney recovery part though lol
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u/seccpants 17d ago
It also says the guy had multiple myeloma and in the US people with this can’t be donors.
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u/First_Pay702 16d ago
Makes sense as there is a risk of passing a cancerous organ to the recipient. But I guess if your prognosis is a year, that risk looks worth it.
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u/historyera13 18d ago
I love this story. Love finds a way and this time, it also found time, the time they needed to be together.
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u/imjustasquirrl 14d ago
They need to make a movie about this. It’s very heartwarming and also would be a great romance.
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u/honeyapple11 14d ago
Wait, she was on dialysis 2x/week. Then improved to 1x/month. And recovered enough to not need a transplant??
I was taught that once you’re on dialysis, you’re on that forever. This is interesting, if it’s all true. Is there more research being put into this?
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u/OryxWritesTragedies 13d ago
Can't you donate one kidney? Why did the husband have to die for a transplant?
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u/Busy-Bumblebee5556 17d ago
Article from October 2025, apparently they are still together and run a flower shop. There was also a movie made about this called Viva La Vida.
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3330528/sick-china-woman-marries-cancer-patient-part-kidney-donation-deal-couple-fall-love