(ABC 6 News) — March is national kidney month, dedicated to raising awareness about kidney health and kidney disease.

Thousands of people are waiting on the transplant list, waiting for a life saving transplant.

For Katie McKee, it was never a question of if she was going to donate, but rather when.

In 2018, McKee’s father passed away suddenly, and he was able to become an organ donor after his passing.

That’s when McKee decided she wanted to become a living organ donor.

“It was never about if, but when would be the right time. And when my dad died, to me it was just a clear opportunity that maybe now’s the right time,” McKee said.

She began an evaluation, and at the very end of 2019, she had the surgery to donate a kidney.

Her donation was non-directed, meaning she didn’t know who her kidney would be going to.

For transplant surgeons, this kind of selfless generosity is something that amazes them to see.

“It amazes all of us every time we get to visit with a a donor, because they’re literally giving a piece of themselves to someone else,” Dr. Ty Diwan, Mayo Clinic Transplant surgeon, said.

McKee, who also works as a Mayo Clinic transplant administrator, sees donation in action everyday, and she knew it would be a natural application of generosity for her.

“As a donor, whether you know the person you’re donating to or not, whether you ever meet them or not, its an act of generosity that really is fulfilling in every way,” McKee said.

Like many living donors, McKee made a fast recovery.

Now, six years later, she’s gotten to learn more about the life she saved and has become friends with her recipient, Abby Russow.

Getting to see the life she transformed is something McKee said has been extremely powerful.

“Living donation is a relatively straightforward act, does indeed then give this gift back, that is so powerful of getting to see a life transformed, or a life restored really,” McKee said.

If you would like to learn more about living donation, you can click here.