Daughter uses Facebook, Twitter to find mom a kidney

Social networks save the day. Again.

Kirti Dwivedi considers herself a social-media junkie. The young Phoenix, Arizona, woman networks daily on Twitter and Facebook.

Her love of social networking platforms has now evolved into gratitude; Facebook helped her find her mother a new kidney.

For 10 years, Kirti watched her mother, Anu, suffer from a failing kidneys. By last October, Anu's kidney function had dropped to a mere 20 per cent.

Kidney donors are hard to find. The women were concerned that it would take years before a match was made. There are currently 83,000 patients on the donor waiting list.

Kirti turned to her online support system.

"I was like, 'I'm not a doctor.' There is very little I felt like I can do, but if I start a Facebook page, maybe we can find a live donor," Kirti told TODAY.

Without telling her mother, Kirti created a Facebook page: "Kidney Disease & My Tiny Mother."

Amy Donahue, a stranger to the Dwivedis, saw that page and was moved by a daughter's determination to save her mother.

She contacted Kirti on Twitter.

Soon, Donahue was emailing Kirti, offering to be a donor for Anu.

"The main reason that I really forged ahead was that my father died of cancer about eight years ago," Donohue told TODAY. "[Anu] could get a kidney and feel better and prolong her life, give her a better quality of life. There was nothing I could do for my father."

Anu was overwhelmed with gratitude for her daughter's campaigning and Donahue's generous offer. After a series of tests, Amy was confirmed as a match. The transplant took place mid-April and has so far been successful.

Donahue is now a frequent dinner guest at Anu's and is considered part of the Dwivedi family.

"I think Amy knows what I feel for her in my heart, and I'm grateful for that," Kirti said. "She's saving my mother's life. I don't think 'thank you' really covers it."