Rose Valenzuela Donated Kidney to Vitaliano Salera 40 Years after They Were Crowned Homecoming Prince and Princess

Rose Valenzuela, a native of Southern California, and former homecoming princess of her alma Mata, Santa Ana Valley High School, prevents her friend, Vitaliano Salera, from kicking the bucket.

The pair began their friendship when they were crowned homecoming Prince and Princess about 40 years ago, during their time in high school.

However, their relationship was short-lived as they both parted ways only to reestablish contact nearly two decades ago, following Rose's friend's marriage ceremony to Salera.

Salera and his beau, Felicia didn't think anything would go wrong, as they pictured a life of eternal bliss. Unfortunately, they received a diagnosis on the former homecoming Prince's health, and it was not good.

It posited that his end-stage kidney failure gave him limited time to live without a transplant. The transplant surgeon in charge of his case at the Keck Medical center hinted that:

"His kidneys failed, so he was in kidney failure. Without dialysis, he would die."

It was a bit of a Herculean task finding a match, as none of his relatives was a match. Luck smiled at Salera when his family friend Rose happened to be the perfect match.

While research shows that over 100,000 kidney failure victims are awaiting transplant, Salera is among the lucky few to have found a solution around him.

The buddies were emotional, considering the fact that the former homecoming princess offered to give her kidney.

She explained that at first, they were overwhelmed with joy, and she was influenced by a previous tragedy that she experienced. In her words:

"I think he started crying and I started crying. It's a match. I'm like there's no way. I got something out of it as much as he did."

Although medical experts in the hospital were not aware of any connection between these two until after the transplant, the pair are hale and hearty, and according to a report from Kim, Salera's kidney is in perfect condition.

The kidney failure survivor didn't mince words when he expressed his gratitude to Rose for giving him a chance to be with his family. He further commented that he hopes their story inspires friends in the world.

Salera continued by stating that their parts didn't cross by accident, as they were meant to serve a "purpose" to each other.

While research shows that over 100,000 kidney failure victims are awaiting transplant, Salera is among the lucky few to have found a solution around him.

Just like Rose, Christian Dempsey, another donor, offered the same help to donate an organ a few years ago to a woman he later married.