Los Angeles TV Anchor Donates Kidney to Save Friend

March 16, 2007 — -- It is often said that in the tough times we learn the meaning of a true friend -- those willing to stick with us during our worst hours.

Dale Davis found such a friend in Phillip Palmer, an anchor at KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

"There's just no one I'd rather be going through this little adventure with than Phillip," Davis said.

The "little adventure" was a kidney transplant, which happened Wednesday at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Today, Palmer is out of the hospital and feeling pretty good, he told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America."

Davis, 39, is still hospitalized, but doing well, according to Palmer.

"Dale's bouncing off the walls of his room. He's ready to run a marathon again," he said.

Last summer Davis was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. After spending months on dialysis, doctors told him there was only one thing that would save his life.

"They said right away 'transplant, that is your only option, that is what you've got to do,'" Davis said.

His friends immediately sprung into action, offering to get tested and hoping to be a match. But Palmer said he instinctively knew he would be the one.

"I told him, 'It's going to be me.' And he said, 'We're not even the same blood type,' and I said, 'It's going to be me,'" Palmer said.

Palmer and Davis met in 1998 when Palmer arrived at KABC as a weekend anchor and reporter. Davis was working as an editor at the station, and the two became running buddies.

"He's been there for me when I've had some hard times; he's my buddy, he's my friend," Palmer said. "I couldn't let him die without a kidney and me live with two."

So when tests showed he was the best match, Palmer didn't hesitate.

"I don't like that catheter stuck in his chest," Palmer said when he made the decision. "I just want him to get well."

Both men spent over a week going through pre-op tests, and then the operation day finally rolled around.