Here’s how a woman’s decision to donate a kidney saved her own life

When Otway Mayfield, from Louisiana, was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease, which runs in his family, he began searching for a living donor. Doctors had told him his best chance would be a living donor, thus, Mayfield’s wife shared their situation on Facebook for help.

Tywa Hughes, Mayfield’s friend from 30 years ago, saw the post and stopped scrolling her Facebook feed immediately. “I turned around and told my husband, I’m going to see if I can be his donor, I’m going to get tested,” Hughes said. After some days, she was told she was a match.

Hughes and Mayfield were friends about 30 years ago when Hughes was dating Mayfield’s friend and Mayfield was in a relationship with his future wife, Jackie. Hughes and Mayfield later went their separate ways to pursue their interests. Mayfield got married and had a son. Hughes also served in the Army, got married and had four daughters.

Even though life had taken them in different directions, they kept in touch through social media, and nine years ago, they reconnected. Not too long after, Mayfield learned he had a kidney disease.

“My dad, uncles, a cousin, all died of some form of kidney disease,” Mayfield said to WHAS11. “So, I knew it was a great chance for myself and my brother to get the same diagnosis down the road.”

In three years, Mayfield was on the transplant list after being in total kidney failure. For two years, he was on dialysis while searching for a match. That was when Hughes came across his wife’s post and decided to help by getting tested.

“I went through the whole process, and the only thing I had to do was my mammogram. I asked the doctors, and they said yea, you can tell Otway you’re his person. I called him and told him. We had some tears over the phone and rejoiced, we thought this was it,” Hughes said.

But when her mammogram came back, she realized she was getting a biopsy. After being told she had breast cancer, she told Mayfield she couldn’t donate her kidney yet. Bent on being his donor, Hughes went for a double mastectomy, and in the year, she was given the green light for the transplant.

She was planning to surprise Mayfield on his birthday — to let him know that she could go on with the transplant. She was completely unaware that Mayfield had also learned that he had prostate cancer.

His family gave him all the support he needed, and after surgery to remove the cancer, Mayfield went ahead with his kidney transplant.

“I got the call that [Hughes] was my donor,” Mayfield said. “I’m starting to cry now, but you don’t know how much joy I had in my heart because I didn’t have to get on that machine anymore. I had my life back, a second chance at life.”

On March 14, 2023, the kidney transplant went on at Jewish Hospital

“It’s been a joyous day for me ever since,” Mayfield said.

“The nurse asked me why I wanted to do this and told her, I had 8 kidneys. I have four kids. He has one son and its hereditary. I just thought, why not?” Hughes said. “It’s nothing to be afraid of, if you want to help somebody, this is the greatest gift you can give them in life.”

That greatest gift saved her life too. 

“He saved my life first,” she said.