One year ago, a woman donated her kidney to her fiancé. Now they're about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A couple from Cranberry Township is celebrating their one year wedding anniversary in May, but maybe even more significant, they just celebrated the one year anniversary of their transplant surgery.

Melissa Wade donated one of her kidneys to her then-fiancé, Byron Wade, last March.  He has an autoimmune disease that caused kidney failure.  Byron was lucky Melissa was a match and that he never had to go on dialysis like most people waiting for a kidney.  The average wait is five years.

"I take a little piece of her with me everywhere I go now," Byron said with a smile. "We talk about that a lot. It's unreal when you look at the lifestyle of someone who is waiting for a transplant and how tough it is to be on dialysis and the wear and tear on the body."

Melissa says about donating her kidney and helping Byron live, "This gift has given me a new life that I wasn't even sure I would have just a few years ago. That's the crazy part. I tell Byron I think the world needs more of him. I believe that in the bottom of my soul."

Both recovered so well that Byron was waterskiing three months after his surgery, and both are doing the Pittsburgh half-marathon next month.

April is Donate Life Month with efforts to increase awareness of organ donation – both living and deceased donors.  More than 100,000 people are on the transplant waiting list, and 17 people a day will die waiting for an organ transplant. You can learn more about organ donation at upmc.com.