Mariana Villarreal, a waitress at Hooters Georgia, is not only offering the best customer service but also one of her kidneys to a longtime regular customer.
Don Thomas wasn't expecting the gift of life from Mariana because they barely knew each other. He lost his two kidneys due to cancer and when Mariana found about it, she immediately offered one of her kidneys.
"Mariana had only been here a short time," Thomas said to the WXIA-TV. "I just barely knew her when she made the offer."
Mariana explained that she just felt the need to help the customer because she can relate to him. Her grandmother passed away recently due to kidney failure.
"I wasn't able to do anything for my grandma," Mariana said, "If [Don] can live two more years, happy as he's ever been, that's fine with me. That's not up to me. I did my part, now it's God's turn to keep him alive."
The surgery and transplant are scheduled on Friday, the Daily Mail reported.
Dr Harrison Pollinger, one of the program directors of the Piedmont Transplant Institute, confirmed that Mariana will remain healthy despite losing one of her kidneys.
"You can live your whole life with one just kidney," Pollinger said. "You only need one kidney for normal kidney function."
Mariana hopes to inspire more people to donate organs to those in need.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, over 3,000 new patients needing kidney transplants are added per month on their waiting list. About 12 people die per day waiting until such time that they are no longer healthy enough to undergo surgery.
