Woman's ex-fiancé saves her life with kidney transplant


A California woman perfect match came from an imperfect match from her past.

Sabrina Timms, 35, is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco for a kidney transplant. She only had to wait a year and a half to find a match.

"I go to dialysis with people who have been waiting eight to 15 years," Timms said. "It's very rare to find a perfect match."

The donor, Daniel Burdick, is Timms’ former fiancé.

The couple was engaged eight years ago, but broke it off.

"He was wanting to pursue his music, and I wanted to settle down," explained Timms.

"We had to kind of make a decision, and I wanted music and the dream thing more," said Burdick.

The two remained friends and still co-parent their children.

Now Burdick is putting off music again, he was set to tour this summer. Instead, he's donating a kidney.

"That's the important part you know, just make sure that she's good," Burkick said. "Music can come later. It never dies. It's gonna be in the heart."

Burdick couldn't give Timms his heart years ago, but he's giving her a kidney now. The donation will give Timms a second chance.

"Well, the kidney is saving my life!" Timms said laughing.

Timms father and uncle were both tested, but neither was a match. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 120,000 people are on waiting lists for organ donations. 18 people a day die waiting for them.

There are moments when Timms breaks down in tears, thinking about the people she sees three days a week at dialysis. She says Monday's final dialysis session would be bittersweet.

"It's going to be really hard because there's a lot of people there that aren't so lucky," she said.

Timms and Burdick hope their story will spur others to get tested to be live organ donors. For more information go to www.UCDonor.org or www.kidneyfund.org.