“Daddy, you thought you were saving my life pulling me from foster care but in actuality, you were saving my life so I could save yours later.”
Those were the words Billy Houze said his daughter DeLauren McKnight told him after after she found out she was a kidney match for him, “Good Morning America” reported.
Houze and his wife, Karen, adopted McKnight 27 years ago when she was just a baby.
The father of five’s kidneys started shutting down after gallbladder surgery in 2016. Doctors had a grim outlook for the pastor. Houze wouldn’t live past five years without a transplant, but the list for organ donation was about seven years, according to “Good Morning America.”
His sons were all tested, but none matched.
Then, on Feb. 1, his adopted daughter, McKnight, was tested and they were a match.
“I never thought I would be a match because I was adopted,” McKnight told “Good Morning America.” “I got the call at work and I wanted him to be the first person that knew. I called and I said, ‘Daddy, I have to tell you something. I’m a match.’”
The father and daughter hope to undergo surgery shortly, GMA reported.
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.
Download the new AJC app. More local news, more breaking news and in-depth journalism. AJC.com. Atlanta. News. Now.
Download the new AJC app. More local news, more breaking news and in-depth journalism. AJC.com. Atlanta. News. Now.
With the largest team in the state, the AJC reports what’s really going on with your tax dollars and your elected officials. Subscribe today. Visit the AJC's Georgia Navigator for the latest in Georgia politics.
Your subscription to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism. Visit the AJC's Georgia Navigator for the latest in Georgia politics.