Kentucky woman saved stranger’s life with kidney donation — now they’re engaged

A Kentucky woman donated her kidney to save the life of a complete stranger — who is now her fiancé.

Ashley McIntyre, 26, did not expect her act of kindness to blossom into romance. She was inspired to help a fellow human being after hearing about Danny Robinson’s struggle with dialysis.

"I never in a million years imagined this would happen. ... It was a whirlwind," she said in an interview with the Courier-Journal. "It's crazy how it all worked out. It was all planned out by God."

Robinson, 26, had been diagnosed with Berger's disease at 16. He reportedly spent two years on a transplant waiting list because none of his family members — who were willing to donate a kidney — matched.

McIntyre’s mother told her about Robinson’s plight after hearing about it on local WHAS radio show "Terry Meiners & Co." The next day, she reached out to Meiners on Facebook and soon got in touch with the transplant program at the University of Kentucky's Center for Transplantation and Organ Failure to offer up her kidney, according to the Louisville paper.

She held off on meeting the Robinsons until doctors concluded that they could move forward with the donation, so as not to disappoint Danny. Once the operations were nearly locked in, the soon-to-be couple and their families met at a nearby Cheesecake Factory.

"We all clicked immediately," she told the Courier-Journal. "They told me I would always be a part of their family."

McIntyre and Robinson spoke on the phone and texted often, leading up to the April 17, 2014, operation. They say they started a romantic relationship after a Memorial Day barbecue, and it got serious pretty quickly.

"It was really clear early on that this was 'it,' " she said.

McIntyre became pregnant with a baby girl they will name Berkli, who is due on June 9. On Christmas Day, Robinson gave her a small box with an engagement ring inside and asked her to marry him — and she said yes.

The National Kidney Foundation says that 13 people die waiting for a kidney every day. A shortage of donations prevents many Americans from receiving lifesaving transplants.

More than 96,000 Americans are currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant, but fewer than 17,000 receive one every year, according to the health organization.

You can sign up for your state’s online donation registry through Donate Life America.