It was something that weighed on Michelle Daniels’ heart for months. Juanita Dunn, a fellow church member at Washington Assembly of God and longtime friend of Daniels’ family, needed a new kidney and was close to the point where she needed dialysis treatment.

“I started thinking about it,” Daniels said. “Over Christmas break, pretty much every night that I laid down, it was like really heavy on my heart that I needed to go get tested to see if I could be a donor. I felt like it was something God kind of put on my heart, and it didn’t go away. It stayed there.”

Daniels knew Dunn and her family had lost both her parents in the past year — her mother to renal failure — and she knew how hard the situation was for the Dunns, Daniels said.

Returning to her job as data manager at Chocowinity Middle School, Daniels decided to take a leap of faith and was tested to verify if she was a match for Dunn. However, Dunn had no idea that Daniels was considering the donation, according to Daniels.

After extensive testing, Daniels was notified she had A-type blood. Dunn was O-type, meaning she could donate to any other blood type, but she had to have an O-type donation to match her, Daniels said.

“I was actually a little disappointed because I felt I was so sure I was a match because of it being on my heart,” Daniels said. “I had never had anything put on my heart as heavy as that before. I’ve had edgings to do things, but I’d never really had God speak to me so directly, I felt like. When it came back, and I wasn’t a match, I almost kind of questioned what I thought God was telling me.”

The outcome would be a little different than Daniels expected. Daniels was, in fact, a healthy, eligible donor, but she just wouldn’t be appropriate in matching with Dunn.

The medical professionals, aware of Dunn’s situation, asked Daniels if she wanted to be placed on a swap list, meaning if another pair — a donor and recipient — was in need of a donor and recipient that matched their blood types, the swap would be viable, according to Daniels.

Finding a suitable pair to swap with could take a while, and Dunn was on the verge of dialysis, but Daniels agreed to the swap list, and the search began. Weeks later, Daniels got the call — they had an A-type recipient that already had an O-type donor.

The process happened unusually fast, but the other O donor, having the universally acceptable blood for all other types, matched well with Dunn. Likewise, Daniels blood type matched all the categories for the other A recipient, according to Daniels.

“The group (of medical professionals) I worked with said it was very unusual how fast it happened,” Daniels said. “I believe it happened that way because God organized it like that. He knew Juanita needed a kidney, and he laid it on my heart, and he knew I wasn’t a match but he knew the other pair were a match for us. Had I waited, that pair could’ve already had their transplant.”

The operation took place on April 14.

“I really feel like it was God’s timing,” Daniels said.

Dunn said the donation, made possible through Daniels’ courage to donate a kidney, extended her life span by 20 to 30 years and improved her quality of life greatly. Had the donation not happened, Dunn would’ve been on dialysis every day.

“I’m just thankful God put it on her heart, and she was willing to donate a kidney,” Dunn said. “It takes a special person to do that for someone you’re not even kin to. I feel great. I was very close to dialysis. I’ve been blessed the whole time because I haven’t gotten sick, but I can already tell a difference. The kidney works that fast. It’s just a true blessing.”

Daniels and Dunn will have the opportunity to meet the pair they swapped with, according to Daniels. However, all parties must wait until everyone is past the major rejection stage, Dunn said.