JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. – When Terry Giang, 36, and Aaron Ly, 35, met 18 years ago, they knew they were a perfect match. But it wasn't until recently they learned just how perfect.
"I'm so happy to have her," Aaron said.
"Just knowing he had the guts to do something so big and brave...it's like true love," Terry said.
More than a year ago, Terry found out she had Stage 5 kidney failure. The 36-year-old thought she'd be on dialysis for the rest of her life, until the day she got a call from her doctors.
"I didn’t believe it. [Aaron] didn’t believe it neither," Terry said. "They would tell us 'you guys are a perfect match.' We looked at each other like, 'did we hear the wrong thing'?"
Despite the odds, Terry and Aaron were a perfect match with the same blood and tissue type.
Aaron was ready to be Terry's donor.
The duo just had their transplant surgeries two weeks ago.
"When it come to kidney transplant, that's the scariest thing for me," Aaron said. "But because so many episodes that she go through, it just make me become stronger and stronger person."
Virginia hit a record number of organ transplants in 2022. LifeNet Health said it coordinated a total of 636 organ transplants, beating the previous record in 2020 by 20.
While more people are signing up to become organ donors, the need is still critical. LifeNet Health reports more than 2,700 Virginians are on the transplant waiting list.
"That one kidney can change a person's life," Terry said.
Terry and Aaron now hope to start a family, saying fate brought them together.
"I'm eternally blessed and grateful of my husband," Terry said. "He gave me a second chance at life. He gave me a gift of life."
