“Now You See Me: Now You Don't” star Jesse Eisenberg could soon surpass the film franchise's Robin Hood-esque Four Horsemen in the payback department.
This December, the Academy Award nominee and longtime blood donor will give one of his kidneys to a complete stranger, he said Thursday on the “Today” show. He introduced the news in a conversation with host Craig Melvin about a recent blood drive sponsored by the show.
While Melvin and his co-hosts reacted in disbelief, Eisenberg said, “I'm really [donating].”
“I don't know why. I got bit by the blood donation bug,” he said, adding that he was “very excited” to do undirected (also known as “altruistic”) donation, in which a living donor is not related to or known to the recipient.
According to the National Kidney Registry, approximately 90,000 people in the U.S. currently need a kidney transplant, while approximately 6,000 people donate kidneys each year. Less than 5% of those already scarce donations are untargeted.
Eisenberg said he suspected that if people knew how safe the process was, those numbers would increase.
“It's essentially risk-free and very necessary,” Eisenberg said in a separate interview with Today.com. “I think people will realize it's a no-brainer, if you have the time and the desire.”
“The Social Network” alum added that potential donors should not worry about wasting a kidney and then facing a situation where a family member urgently needs one.
“The way it works now is that you can put up a list of who you would like to be first [relative] be at the top of the list,” he said, referring to the National Kidney Registry's family voucher program. The program launched in 2019, preceded by an earlier “standard” iteration that required the voucher donor to name a voucher holder who had some type of kidney failure. (The standard voucher option is still available to donors as well.)
“Not only does this remove a major disincentive to living kidney donation, but it is the right thing to do for generous people who donate a kidney to a stranger. Donors can now donate a kidney and still provide security for their loved ones should they need a kidney transplant in the future,” Dr. Jeff Veale, who helped pioneer the voucher system, said in a statement at the time of the program update.
Recovery is also not a problem for most kidney donors, who on average return to their daily activities a few weeks after surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Now You See Me: Now You Don't” hits theaters on November 14, almost a decade after the release of the previous installment in the franchise. Eisenberg stars alongside returning cast members Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco, and newcomers Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt and Rosamund Pike.
