Teacher gives student's mother the greatest gift possible

Some teachers go above and beyond for their students. But Donna Hoagland, a teacher in Florida, helped a student's mother in a life-changing way. 

It started when Donna noticed a change in one of her students, Troy Volk. The nine-year-old seemed down and more withdrawn than usual. 

As Donna got in contact with Troy's mother, Anahita,to learn if there was something going on at home. 

There was, Anahita was in stage five kidney failure and because of her rare blood type, the chances of finding a donor were very slim. 

"When my parents told me about the kidney failing stuff, I was getting a little down," Troy told CBS.

He added that his worst fear was his mum "not getting a kidney ever."

While little Troy tried to keep a brave face in the difficult time, he learned to confide in Donna. 

"To think what he must go through seeing his mom being sick all the time, it's not fair," she said said.

Eventually, Donna decided to take some action to help her student and his mother. She began months of research into kidney donors.

In a stroke of luck, it turned out that Donna was the same rare blood type as Anahita. She rang Anahita with the greatest report of her life. 

"I'm like, 'what are you talking about?'" Anahita said. "She turns around and she's like, 'we're a match.'"

The transplant happened when the school was closed for the Christmas holidays. Anahita is grateful beyond words to her son's teacher. 

As for Troy, it's a lesson in giving he'll never forget: 

"The one thing I love about my mum's kidney transplant … is that we all get a gift. 

 "The same gift – it's not a gift that can be wrapped in a present. It's like a miracle. A perfect match is a miracle."

That's one teacher that definitely deserves gold stars all around.