Franks said the waitlist to get a kidney from a deceased donor would take 10 years. Time was of the essence for Franks, which is why she decided to look for a donor on social media. That's how she met Gary Frey.
"I was on Facebook and one of my friends posted that her goddaughter, Jenna, needed a kidney. And normally, I would go on to the next thing, but I went and looked at it and I thought that's something I can do," Frey said.
Frey is a retired Marine living in New Mexico who volunteers with the Farmington Fire Department in his spare time.
He reached out to Franks to say he'd donate a kidney to Jenna, however he wasn't a match.
"And then later on when it was clear he wasn't going to be a match, he entered a program called paired exchange where she could get a kidney from someone else and he would give his in return," Frey said.
Because Frey was still willing to donate his kidney to a stranger, Jenna was able to receive a living donation when one became available. The waiting process took about three years.
"At first I didn't want to get my hopes up. There's been a lot of false starts, and it didn't really seem real right up until I was being rolled into surgery, but it means so much to me. It's hard and this gave me a new lease on life," said Jenna.
Jenna and her family said they're extremely grateful, but Frey said he was just doing the right thing.
"I understand it's a big deal and I appreciate the fact it's a big deal, but to me—it didn't really seem like a big deal," he said.
"It's how I was raised with my dad. He taught us to do what we can to help people out," he added.
"This man is saving my baby. I can't thank him enough. There's no gift or gratitude or words I could share that express how much it means when someone is willing to do that," said Franks.
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New Mexico man donates kidney to save woman's life - KOB
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