James Zimmerman, a long time Santa Clarita resident with polycystic kidney disease, thought he had run out of options and prepared himself and his family for his life on dialysis until a friend decided to give him a second chance at life by donating one of her kidneys.

Hometownstation.com ran a story about James, his disease, and his immediate need for a kidney in February.

“We were hoping to get a donor to keep him off of dialysis,” said Vicci Zimmerman, James’ wife. “Your chances of not rejecting a kidney, of not having complications, and doing better with immunosuppressant drugs post surgery are greatly improved if you don’t go onto dialysis first.”

Polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, affects about 600,000 people in the United States today. PKD produces large cysts on the kidneys that are filled with toxic fluid and make it impossible for the kidneys to drain and remove the excess. An average adult kidney is about the size of a clenched fist, but Zimmerman’s kidneys are much larger, estimated to weigh about 22 pounds each.

“His kidneys are unable to process out the toxins from his blood,” Vicci Zimmerman said. “His quality of life at this point is not very good.”

James was diagnosed when he was 20 years old, and he lived with the disease for over 30 years, not needing a kidney transplant until now due to his healthy lifestyle.

Related: Santa Clarita Man In Need Of Kidney After Battle With Polycystic Kidney Disease

Gerry Rodriguez, a friend of the Zimmermans for years, was on hometownstation.com searching for information about a tragic incident that happened by his home in Canyon Country and stumbled upon a story about James’ need for a kidney. Gerry showed his wife Debi, who immediately decided to give James one of hers.

When asked if he was surprised about his wife’s instantaneous decision to undergo surgery, Gerry said it’s just who his wife is.

“Knowing her, it didn’t surprise me,” said Gerry.

Gerry and Debi said they’ve raised their children to be selfless, and this was evident when their daughter Olivia was “ready to step in” if Debi wasn’t approved to donate her kidney.

“The way we’ve raised our kids, they’ve always had that spirit of giving,” said Gerry.

Vicci said that after the article on hometownstation.com ran in February, she received hundreds of emails from residents hoping to help James by donating a kidney, but they were all turned down for not being an adequate match — until Debi.

Debi passed every test with flying colors, surprising the doctors and the Zimmermans by being an almost perfect match. James and Debi are set for surgery on June 7, and if James’ body doesn’t reject the kidney, he will be able to remove his swollen kidneys and get back to life as usual.

“I’m most excited about not being tired anymore,” said James. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

James and Vicci said they were so thankful for everyone that reached out to them after the article.

“I’m so glad that we’re able to provide a platform for the needs of our local residents and to help contribute to this happy ending,” said Jeri Seratti-Goldman, co-owner of KHTS.

The Zimmermans and Rodriguezes hope for a happy ending after James’ next few surgeries, but they also hope to bring awareness to the living donor program.

According to the American Transplant Foundation, in 2014, over 5,000 kidney and liver transplants were made possible by living donors.

“If you have a spare, share!” said Vicci.

To find out if you can help, visit the American Transplant Foundation’s website here.