So many people have asked me, why did you do it? Why in the world would you give someone your kidney?

My answer is almost always the same: why not? Sure, that’s awfully simplistic, but in my mind, it always has been relatively simple. I’ve always felt that good goes around and what better good is there than helping someone live?

But this isn’t always a satisfactory answer, which I understand, so here is my story in a bit more detail:

My mother always believed strongly in organ donation. She always told me, “You can’t take it with you, so you might as well give it someone who needs it”. When cancer ravaged her body in 2002, there wasn’t much left to donate. And, God bless my dad, he couldn’t bring himself to sign some pieces of my mother – despite what she wanted. He just couldn’t do it. And, at the time, the next of kin still had the power to stop organ donation even if that little sticker existed on her driver’s license.

So, part of me wanted to give what she couldn’t. Part of me wanted to fulfill her dying wish to help someone else. Knowing that she is proud of me means more than you can probably imagine. And I know that she is today.

But I would never have sought out the situation. It just happened to sort of fall into my lap. My sister, Renee, informed me that her sister-in-law (her husband’s sister), Susan, needed a kidney transplant. Susan has been diabetic since she was a little kid and the disease had taken its toll on her kidneys. Complicating Susan’s needs – she is adopted and no one in the family that raised and loved her was even her blood match.

When I heard this, my husband and I immediately piped up that we would get tested. And really, that was the end of that. When you say those words, or in my case when I said those words, I meant them. I meant that I would do this for Susan. I didn’t know what it meant to me or my family or anyone else for that matter, but I knew that, if I were to be a match, I would go through with the donation.

And, go figure, I was a match. A very strong match for Susan. The doctor informed us that, to be a closer match, would mean we were twins. Now, when you hear this information – that you are a match – it takes your breath away. It’s one thing to wonder. It’s another to know. And it’s a much bigger thing to breathe in and out and walk forward to commit to continuing the testing to become a donor.

And that’s what happens. You are looked at by doctors, through MRIs and all kinds of things to make sure you are healthy enough to continue with the process. I mean, very selfishly, I now know that I am a perfectly healthy human being. Even mentally. Doctors talk to you to make sure you are becoming a donor for the right reasons. And none of it cost me a dime. Seriously. Not one penny came out of my pocket through the whole process.

Susan’s insurance took care of my medical bills and by some wonderful chance, my parent company (The E.W. Scripps Company) was gracious enough to grant me paid medical leave. I am very lucky.

And this is just my story. There are so many more out there in the world that need this kind of help, and you can be there for them.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are more than 111,000 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the U.S. Of these, more than 89,000 await kidney transplants. Nearly 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month.

In 2010, 16,898 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of these, 6,276 came from living donors.

To identify yourself as an organ donor, visit the Donate Life America website at donatelife.net and choose your state of residence to learn about the options in your area.

For more information about kidney and organ donations, and other options about how you can become a donor and give life, visit http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/learn-more-about-organ-donation.

Join us on 9 News at 6 for more reports on how donating can be a life-changing experience.