Tulsa Man Donates His Kidney To A Co-Worker In Georgia, Saving Her Life

A Tulsa man and a Florida woman are credited with saving the life of a coworker in Georgia.

All three worked at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in different states.

Jeanine Ramirez urgently needed a kidney transplant. Doctors say she might not have made it to this year without one.

All three colleagues live across the country - but since they work remotely, they've been talking to each other for years.

After months of failed matches and bad news - Jane Bridges thought her coworker and longtime friend Jeanine was out of options.

“This summer … I found out that she had been given one to six months to live," Bridges said.

Jeanine's kidneys were failing so in a last-ditch effort Bridges - who also works for Cancer Treatment Centers of America - sent out a company-wide letter in the hope that somebody would be a donor match.

Jimmie Deibert responded to the letter and turned out to be a nearly perfect match.

“I knew almost instantly that that was God’s intention for me," he said.

Jeanine remembers an emotional meeting the day of the transplant in November, It had been years since they'd seen each other in person - but she knew his voice.

“The day of, I checked in probably a little bit before Jimmie actually showed up to the hospital. And so I was nervous and I didn’t know if I would cross paths with him prior to surgery," Ramirez said.

"So I didn’t know, would he back out? All these anxious thoughts come and pop into your head. It’s very early, I think it’s maybe five o’clock in the morning, and then I heard his voice behind me in the waiting room and I turned around and I’m like, ‘*gasp* He showed up!’"

Ramirez says Deibert's generosity and Bridges' hard work saved her life and gave her a new purpose.

"It has given me a whole new renewed faith in people," Ramirez said. “I appreciate things that I did not realize I did not appreciate before."

Ramirez has recovered well - and says the three have stayed close friends.