Retired judge Howard Broadman helped his grandson get a kidney in the future — and he didn't even need time travel to do it.
He did have to make an incredibly generous move, though.
Three years ago, he donated one of his kidneys — not to his beloved grandson, but to a total stranger. Yep. You read that right. A stranger.
Image via UCLA Health.
You see, Broadman's grandson is Quinn, a little boy born with only one kidney — one kidney that isn't fully functioning. Broadman may be too old to donate by the time Quinn needs a transplant.
At first, he considered donating to a complete stranger anyway. He'd join the list of living donors fittingly called “altruistic donors” and hope for karma to come back around and help Quinn in the future.
Instead, he came up with a brilliant idea.
That stranger he donated his kidney to? Her name is Kathy DeGrandis. And her sister (who hadn't previously donated because she wasn't compatible with Kathy), donated to a stranger, whose family donated to someone else.
How does this lead back to Quinn? Well, thanks to his grandfather’s innovative thinking, Quinn gets a voucher for that kidney he might need in the future.
“I didn't know anything about kidney donations or anything like that,” Broadman says. But learning that his grandson's life was on the line got him thinking.
He realized that the supply of donated kidneys doesn't even come close to keeping up with the number of people who need them.
To get a transplant in the future, Quinn would have to join a list that's currently over 100,000 people long, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
It's a disturbing wait, with only about 18,000 transplants taking place every year.
That’s why Broadman brought his simple idea to medical professionals at UCLA. He proposed that he’d donate a kidney to a stranger now, and Quinn would get a voucher for a kidney in the future.
And, in the end, he wouldn’t only save one stranger’s life.
Now, his simple proposal is touching more and more strangers' lives every year.
The UCLA Kidney Voucher Program, in association with the National Kidney Registry, connects patients in a sort of paying-it-forward system that Broadman describes as “a geometric progression of goodness.”
How it works: Someone like Broadman has a kidney to give and a loved one in need, but an obstacle like time stands in the way of a direct donation.
So they donate to a stranger. Then their loved one (like the Lego-loving, soccer-playing, joyful kindergartner named Quinn) gets a voucher to become a high priority recipient when an appropriate match becomes available.
Image via UCLA Health.
The initial response to Broadman’s idea? Medical professionals told him that “nobody's ever wanted to do that before,” he says.
But he was ready to be the first, and a unique exchange program was born.
Since its inception at UCLA, at least 30 hospitals now have this program, and studies show that it's making a real difference.
Right now, only about 6,000 donations a year come from the most effective donors — living donors.
This voucher program is already increasing those numbers. So far, donation chains have led to 68 transplants and 21 vouchers issued to patients in need. People who aren't compatible with their loved ones can donate to help them anyway.
Image via UCLA Health.
“Sometimes you need to break out of your pattern, look at things from a different viewpoint,” Broadman suggests. This program, he says, is his “small gift to the universe.”
He pulls no punches in admitting that donating a kidney is a painful procedure. But he’ll tell you that it's worth it to give a fighting chance to someone — like that adorable youngster Quinn, or your own loved one.
“It's my best legacy. I don't know any gift better,” Broadman says as his voice cracks. “It's pretty powerful.”
Inspired? Learn more about the UCLA Kidney Voucher Program.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.