STARKVILLE, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi State University (MSU) alumna and Tupelo Public School District special education teacher Holly Allgood didn’t hesitate to help one of her students.

Allgood was in her classroom at Tupelo’s Early Childhood Education Center when she received a call that she was a match. She donated 30% of her liver to her student, Bowen Dorr, who is battling carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency (CPS1).

“MSU alumna Holly Allgood’s selfless act of love and concern for one of her students reflects what I believe is a core value of our university, which is service,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. “We try to instill in our College of Education graduates the sense that they are stewards of the future in teaching and impacting the lives of their students. Certainly, Holly has taken that to an entirely new level, and all of us in the Mississippi State family admire and applaud her sacrifice and devotion to her student.”

Both Allgood and Bowen are recovering well after the August transplant and have gained national attention for their story. Allgood, Dorr, and Dorr’s mother were recently featured on the “Jennifer Hudson Show” during this week’s national Teacher Appreciation Week. They shared Dorr’s story, and Allgood received a $10,000 gift from PaperMate.

“He’s a completely different kid now,” Jamie Dorr, Bowen’s mother, said in the interview. “…To have someone so close to home that was willing to lay down her life for [my child] when I couldn’t—it’s a gift I can’t put words to. We need more Hollys.”

Allgood, a Tupelo native and 2005 MSU College of Education graduate, has spent nearly two decades teaching special education.