Tiffany Austin of McDonough said a friend’s recent need for a kidney transplant enabled them to demonstrate “what real love looks like.”

  “I really believed that Jesus put us together,” said Austin. “I really wanted to show how we can all come together, no matter what religion, what color or anything.”

  Austin, 51, works as a social worker at Woodland Elementary School, alongside 47-year-old NaKisha Wynn, a lead teacher in the school’s gifted program. Wynn is currently on medical leave following a kidney transplant she received from Austin.

  Wynn said her health scare began in June of 2017, when she was diagnosed with kidney disease.

  “I was between stage 3 and stage 4,” she said. “On the third day of

school, I ended up in the hospital. I had fluid going from the bottom of my leg right up to the knee.”

  Wynn underwent six months of chemotherapy from August of 2017 to January of 2018.

  “When I finished my last chemo, I still didn’t feel right,” she said.

  Wynn soon learned that her kidney disease was getting worse. She then went on dialysis treatment in February of 2018 and soon began exploring the possibility of a transplant from a living donor.

  “The reason I looked for a living donor was, I was told it would take

five years to find a deceased kidney,” said Wynn. “For me, I have a son in high school, which meant I would miss a lot of his activities.”

  Around the same time that Wynn went on dialysis, Austin learned that Wynn needed a kidney transplant and wanted to do something to help.

  Austin said she initially thought one of Wynn’s family members would be able to donate a kidney, but that wasn’t the case.

  Austin then began learning more about the possibility of being a living donor for Wynn, with whom she has worked for the last five years.

  “I’ve always wanted to be an organ donor on death, but I had never thought about being a living donor,” said Austin.

  Wynn said Austin asked her, in August of 2018, what someone would have to do in order to be a donor. Rather than putting all her hopes into that possibility, however, Wynn said she didn’t let herself get too attached to the idea.

  Instead, Wynn continued dialysis treatment.

  “At that time, I didn’t get excited because she wasn’t the only one [asking],” said Wynn. “Others were too. There were days I went to work extremely tired. But I pushed through it. I tried not to show it.”

  Austin said when the 2017-18 school year ended, she was anxious to find out whether Wynn had found a donor. When the 2018-19 school year began, Austin learned that Wynn was on a waiting list for a transplant.

  “Each time I would talk to her it was like my heart was telling me, ‘you’ve got to help her,’” said Austin. “That it was my mission to do this.”

  Recent statistics from Emory University Hospital indicate that more than 100,000 people are on the deceased-donor waiting list, highlighting the need for living kidney donors. Such numbers, said Austin, further motivated her to help Wynn.

  “Last year, less than 15,000 people on the list actually got a kidney,” said Austin. “That’s what was so exciting for me.”

  Austin was placed on a waiting list in August of 2018 and went through several tests of her own to determine her eligibility as a donor. Within a few weeks, Austin was approved for the next level in the process to donate her kidney to Wynn.

  In December, Austin said, Emory called her to arrange a day of additional testing for March of this year.

  “On March 22, they called and said that I was a perfect match for her,” said Austin. “That’s when I went over to her school and told her. I was so excited because she has a third-grader and a ninth-grader, and I knew this was going to be able to dramatically change her life. I was so excited for her.”

  After 14 months of dialysis, Wynn was recently approved for a transplant, with Austin as her donor. Wynn got word on March 23 that Austin was a match.

  Austin said she can still recall the moment when she approached Wynn at the school with the good news.

  “I was holding a poster that said, ‘Jesus chose me for you,’” said  Austin. “She said, ‘Are you for real?’, and I said ‘yes.’ She jumped up and ran down the hall and ran back.”

  The successful three-hour surgery took place on April 30. Wynn said she is still recovering from the transplant but that she is getting better and expects to be ready to return to the school in the fall.

  “My appetite is slowly coming back,” said Wynn. “I was told by the doctors on Thursday that I’m doing great.”

  Wynn and her husband, Derrick, have been married for 18 years and have two children, ages 15 and 8. She said she remains “speechless” about what Austin did for her.

  “She is a true friend that I will have for life,” said Wynn. “I admire what she has done for me and the sacrifices she has also made, because it affected her family.

  From this, I have gained an additional family.”

  Austin and her husband, David, have one daughter in college. She hopes to use their story to increase awareness of the need for living donors.

  Austin said Wynn’s health struggles, and the transplant that resulted, have helped to strengthen their friendship.   “I am so thrilled,” said Austin. “I want everybody to do it. There’s nothing that could have made me regret it. I’m just so grateful to have had this opportunity. I’m so excited for her.”