When die-hard “Star Wars” fan Jeff Romanoff needed a kidney transplant, he didn’t have to go to a galaxy far, far away.
PHOTOS: ‘Star Wars’ Devotee Donates Kidney
With his right kidney lost, his left failing and a transplant his only hope, things were looking as bleak as the snows of Planet Hoth for the 41-year-old suburban-Philly cop last summer.
But then he found a group of heroes who rushed in and saved the day like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
Except this time, the heroes were the stormtroopers.
Romanoff was able to get a kidney donated this month from a Long Island man who is fellow member of a “Star Wars” stormtroopers fan club.
The group, called Vader’s Fist 501st Legion, dresses up like their favorite Dark Side characters from the sci-fi films.
“At that time, I didn’t know he was suffering from cancer,” said donor Eric Seemann, who learned of his Imperial comrade’s plight through a bulletin-board posting on the group’s Web site last year.
“They weren’t actually asking members of the group to get themselves tested [for compatibility]. But I thought about it. They hadn’t asked for it, but I stepped up.”
Romanoff, a police officer of 16 years in Lower Merion Township, suffers from Von Hippel-Lindau disease, a rare genetic condition that had led to kidney cancer.
Seemann, of Levittown, got the news he was a match on Aug. 27 of last year.
The moment he told his fellow stormtrooper of his lifesaving decision, he knew he had made the right choice. The pair underwent surgery on April 3 at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and both have been given a clean bill of health.
“I said [to Jeff], ‘I’ve got some great news for you. I just got the test results, and I’m a match,’ ” Seemann recalled.
“He was speechless. He was crying.
“I don’t consider myself a hero. I was part of a team,” Seemann said. “I just happened to be the one who hit the home run.”
Romanoff, who left hospital last Saturday, was at a loss for words when asked about his friend’s sacrifice.
“How many people can say they’ve met a true hero? I can,” he said. “I’m cancer free, and I have a brand-new kidney. Eric saved my life.
“I would’ve lost my job if I was on a dialysis machine, and, more important than that, I would have missed seeing my son grow up.
“I will honor the rest of my life to the sacrifice he has made for me.”
Surgeon Dr. David Goldfarb said he expected his patient to make a full recovery.
“I’ve never operated on a stormtrooper before,” he said. “And I’ve never operated on Darth, either.”