Living 1,500 miles away from each other, sisters Cecelia Chmiola of Mountain Top and Donna Tovalin of Cypress, Texas, share a bond that goes far beyond being siblings.
"We find out there a certain gift of life that we can give as living donors, and a lot of people don't realize that," said Cecelia Chmiola,
Donna was just over the age of 30 at the time and was sick for years, trying to find a kidney match. The oldest sister in their family first tried to donate but was unable to.
Cecelia finally stepped up to the plate in 2004. If she hadn't, Donna would have been forced to start dialysis.
"Before my transplant, yeah, I was living, but I was not living a good quality of life. There were several times I would wake up in the morning; I didn't feel well. I would go back to bed. Now even 16 years after transplant, I have my life back," said kidney transplant recipient Donna Tovalin.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, only one in five people on the waitlist will receive a kidney transplant this year.
Kidney disease affects 37 million Americans, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with kidney diseases are the most affected.
"Mortality rates associated with COVID in dialysis are higher than in any other disease group," said Dr. Paul Palevsky, president of the National Kidney Foundation,
Dr. Palevsky says kidney donations are needed.
Every year, the sisters make special shirts for their anniversary. This year Donna will look to celebrate her 17th year of restored life and 50th birthday.
"For some people, that's a scary point in their life, but guess what? For me, it's not. I'm happy; I'm blessed because I thought I would never make it to 50 years old," Donna said.
Donna's daughter was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of 12 but is responding well to treatment. Her case is yet another reason the family is encouraging everyone to become donors so that more people can have a better quality of life.