Frank-Walter Steinmeier left the hospital after donating a kidney to his wife:

The president of Social Democrats (SPD) in the Bundestag, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will leave hospital today after undergoing surgery to donate a kidney to his wife, Elke Brüdenbender, who suffered a serious kidney condition. The SPD parliamentary group reported that Steinmeier, foreign minister in the previous term, will now receive outpatient treatment before starting in the coming days for rehabilitation therapy.

The operation for the removal of one kidney for transplant Steinmeier immediately to his wife, administrative judge in Berlin, was held successfully on 24 August in a hospital in the capital. Frank-Walter Steinmeier left the hospital after donating a kidney to his wife. Steinmeier, 54, stunned the political class and the German public opinion by announcing shortly before his retirement speech “provisional” from active politics to donate a kidney to his wife of 48 years.

“I myself will be the donor,” said he was foreign minister in the previous term by informing the media about his decision to retire “for a few weeks of public life.” Based on the diagnosis and medical prognosis, the former German minister was convinced that after surgery you can return to a normal life.

Social Democrat leader expressly asked the media that in view of the illness of his wife, to respect the privacy and do not try to dig into the personal life of marriage, which has a 14 year old daughter. Social Democrat leader reported that his colleague Joachim Poss, vice chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, assumed his duties during his absence.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier left the hospital after donating a kidney to his wifeSteinmeier’s announcement sparked a wave of solidarity and admiration of the German political class with messages of encouragement from, among others, the Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and his successor in the
portfolio of Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle.