AUSTIN, Texas – When you think of your best friend, think of the person who made you laugh and cry.

“When we met, there was just a spark between us, you know. I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but when you meet someone you like, it’s clear. Oh yes. We could be friends,” says Andrei Thomas, who received a kidney.

For the past 33 years, Andrei and Rhonda have been inseparable through good times and bad.

In 2022, Andrei received devastating news.

“I knew my kidney was only functioning at 50%, so I didn’t worry about it until they told me the numbers. And they were single digits,” says Thomas.

Andreis and her doctors could hardly believe it: her kidneys were failing.

“So we immediately thought about what to do. Because it was obvious that I needed a new kidney,” says Thomas.

When Rhonda learned that her best friend needed a new kidney, she began researching Andrei’s options.

“My first thought was: what are the chances that we’re a match? What do you have to do to find out if the kidneys are a match? So I used good old Google and myself to get the ball rolling. Step one is blood type,” says Rhonda Johnson, kidney donor.

After the blood test, Rhonda found out that they were compatible. At that moment, she knew she wanted to help her best friend and donate her kidney.

Rhonda traveled to Austin to personally tell Andrei the good news.

“I said, ‘What did they tell you? How long are you going to be out of action if you get a kidney transplant?’ And I said, ‘Is it harder for the recipient or the donor?’ I’ve heard it’s harder for the donor.’ And I said, ‘Really?’ Because they told me it really wasn’t that bad for the donor, and I said, ‘Because they told me you’d be out of action much longer than I was,'” Johnson says, recalling the conversation with Thomas.

Andrei was in shock. For the past ten months, she had been on dialysis at home and waiting for a donor, only to find out that her best friend was the right one for her.

“I don’t think I expected the first person tested to be a match. I just never dreamed we would be a match,” says Thomas.

Nearly a year after the kidney transplant, Andrei and Rhonda are recovering and planning to celebrate the anniversary of the life-saving surgery.

“I couldn’t have done it without her, my family and Rhonda. They cheered me on and told me, ‘You know, I can do this. And you’ll see that I’m stronger than I think,'” says Thomas.

If you would like to know how to become a kidney donor, click here.