A Jersey City police officer is in recovery after getting a lifesaving kidney transplant from a donor who he calls his “angel.”

The donor is Gitti Allman – a mother of six from Long Island. She heard about Officer Sonny Silver’s situation and called him one day at work and told him that he could have her kidney.

The 42-year veteran of the Jersey City police force was on patrol the day Allman called the precinct looking for him. The two were complete strangers.

“I thought they were pulling my leg and the lieutenant said, ‘I think I found you a kidney. Call this lady,’” Silver says.

“We spoke for a few minutes and I said to him, I’ll never forget, ‘Let’s start with the basics. What blood type are you?’ and he said, ‘B.’ and I think I started screaming at that point,” Allman says.

Allman’s blood type of B-positive, which is common in only 8% of the population. That was in January. The transplant was performed March 3 at Montefiore Hospital. Doctors say that the blood type matched and that the two were a near-perfect genetic match.

“She was out a day or two after surgery. No complications whatsoever,” says Dr. Juan Rocca.

“If only we could promote more of this, it would be a much better world overall,” says Dr. Stuart Greenstein.

News 12 first reported about Silver a year ago. His sister called after she was medically denied donating her kidney.

Silver had recently responded to the deadly shooting attack at a Jersey City Jewish grocery market in December 2019. Allman – who is Jewish – took notice.

“I was horrified. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in a long time,” Allman says.

A friend showed Allman the News 12 report about Silver.

“It was when I saw the Channel 12 news clip about Officer Silver that he was a first responder that day,” Allman says. “I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving, somebody who put his life on the line like that for so many years.”

They truly were a perfect match.

“She gave me a good kidney, boy, because it has given me the energy. I’m back to work. I’m working the radio car in the streets out there doing what I wanted to do and Gitti helped me to do,” Silver says.

Allman now has a pillow that says, “My superpower is being in two places at once.”

“A family now has their father, a grandfather, their sibling. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to do this for another human being,” Allman says.

Allman says that while not everyone can donate an organ, she hopes to spur others to perform some act of kindness to improve on other's lives.

The two families say that they want to meet in person soon. Silver says that others became aware of his search and wanted to help. He says that this has led to 17 other organ donations.