Jesse Eisenberg Surprises With News of a Kidney Donation — But Who Is It For?

Celebrities frequently make headlines for their latest projects of the details of their personal lives, but every so often they become the topic of conversation for something truly heart-warming. Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg recently announced that he is donating a kidney, but there is much more to the story.

Find out who Jesse has decided to give his kidney to and the reason behind his incredibly selfless gesture.

During an interview with the Today show on Thursday, Oct. 30, to promote his upcoming film, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Jesse Eisenberg revealed that he has decided to donate a kidney. However, the donation won’t be to a family member or a loved one but to a stranger instead.

"I'm actually donating my kidney in six weeks," Jesse confirmed. "I really am. I don’t know why. I got bitten by the blood donation bug. I’m doing an altruistic donation (in) mid-December. I’m so excited to do it."

"It's essentially risk-free and so needed," he said. "I think people will realize that it's a no-brainer, if you have the time and the inclination."

The actor then explained on the show the process of the altruistic donation.

"Let's say person X needs a kidney in Kansas City, (and) their child or whoever was going to donate to them is, for whatever set of reasons, not a match, but somehow I am," Jesse began.

"That person can still get my kidney, and hopefully that child of that person still donates their kidney, right? But it goes to a bank where that person can find a match recipient, but it only works if there is basically an altruistic donor."

Per RWJ Barnabas Health, an altruistic kidney donor is someone “who wishes to donate a kidney to a person with advanced kidney disease, who he or she does not know.” These donors are also known as non-directed donors.

As many in need of kidney transplants may be incompatible with their living, a non-directed donor “can help by participating in a Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) and help multiple recipients receive a living donor transplant by starting a kidney exchange chain of transplants,” according to the organization.

In 2017, Francia donated her kidney to friend Selena, who was in dire need of a transplant to save her life.

“There are no words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” Selena wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”

In 2024, following a public fallout between the two shortly after the transplant, Francia spoke with Distractify about her choice.

“I didn't work my a-- off for that to be my title, but it is something that I did,” she said. “And I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to do that because I've learned a lot from it. But you know, there's times where I'm like, ‘Hey, guys, I am my own human.’ Like, stop.”