SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — Thousands of people are in need of organ transplants across our nation, but nearly a year ago one Sandersville woman saved a man's life. Serretta Griffeth donated one of her kidneys to her best friend's dad.
"I am not just a perfect, wonderful person to do this. Anybody can do this," Griffeth said.
John Bailey was on dialysis for three years after doctors told him his kidney was failing.
"I couldn't have made it much longer, probably a year," said Bailey.
Griffeth says testing showed she was an exact match, and the donation process began.
"Then it hit me that I'm going to get to live again," said Bailey.
Griffeth says when people find out she is a live donor, they ask the same question.
"'What if one of my children needed a kidney?' My thing is, you can't live your life on what if," she said.
Griffeth and Bailey both want people to know that being a live donor is a much more viable option than waiting until after you have passed away.
"It doesn't diminish your quality of life," Griffeth said.
Kidneys from a live donor typically last longer than from a deceased donor, according to the National Kidney Foundation. Since the start of 2019, only 20% of organ donations have come from live donors with the other 80% coming from deceased donors.
There are about 95,000 people in the United States currently on the wait list for a kidney.
"You are able to continue living, and you get to be happier, because you saved someone," Bailey said.
Griffeth says they want to celebrate their 'transplantaversary' by encouraging others to become donors while they are still alive.
"It's a long process. You have to do a lot of testing, a lot of bloodwork, but it's very worth it," she said.
Griffeth said from start to finish, the whole process took a little over a year. Bailey said he feels so much better and is relieved he doesn't have to get back on dialysis.
"I still haven't gotten to the end of the journey yet, but I'm on my way," he said.
Bailey said he will never forget what she did for him.
"She saved me from going underground. And I owe her something the rest of her days and mine too," he said.