Sister donates kidney to twin brother for their birthday

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A sister has given her twin brother the birthday gift of a lifetime.

Laura Treviño underwent a procedure at DHR Health on Wednesday to donate her kidney to her brother, Francisco Alvarado, who has been on dialysis for seven years.

Laura says the dialysis was affecting Alvarado's day-to-day life.

"I saw him, and his health was deteriorating every day," Laura said. "I want him to live a better life."

The kidney procedure was initially to be done in Galveston when COVID-19 broke out.

Years later, the twins are celebrating their birthday at DHR Health and moving forward with the kidney transplant.

"We're here and we're both happy," Laura said. "I'm OK. He's OK. We're both happy,"

Francisco says the kidney transplant is a chance at a new life.

"Life on dialysis is really hard. You don't have a life," Francisco said. "This is my best gift."

DHR Health kidney physician Hector Saucedo Crespo says kidney donations can significantly reduce a person's time on the transplant procedure waitlist.

"The average time that the patient stays on the wait list is about five years," Crespo said. "But if they have a living donor, they bypass that waitlist, and they get transplanted within months."

The DHR Health Transplant Institute is the only facility in the Rio Grande Valley to offer a kidney transplant program.

"We're doing more kidney transplants than ever," Crespo continued. "We're blessed to have this service here to help our population."