Houston woman donates kidney to father in time for Father's Day

HOUSTON, Texas (WPVI) -- It's the Father's Day gift that keeps on giving.

Nick Massad's kidneys were failing and needed treatment. With more than a 100,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant and a wait time of more than five years, options were running thin.

"I was faced with dialysis or perhaps an early death," Massad said.

His family knew they needed to act quickly in order to help him.

Massad's doctor suggested he search for a living donor. That's when he wrote a letter to his family and friends, but fortunately for him, that letter was never sent out.

"My daughter Taylor said 'Dad, you won't need to put that letter out because I've applied for the testing next week,'" Massad recalled.

His daughter, Taylor Tritt, said she refused to watch her father wait years for a match.

"When we knew he needed a transplant, we thought of 'the list," Tritt said. "You hear about 'the list,' and then once you find out the the details, you realize the list is not really an option. It wasn't an option for him to wait that long."

It turned out, Massad's own daughter was a perfect match.

"When I first found out that I was approved to be a donor, I was ecstatic," recalled Tritt. "I wasn't scared. It was like 'When can we go? Let's do it today.' I mean, he needed it."

Dr. Hassan Ibrahim, chief of kidney diseases at Methodist Houston, said half of living donors are relatives.

"A daughter donating to her father is truly one of the most impressive things someone can do for their family member," Ibrahim said.

Tritt said it was a no-brainer when she decided to donate her kidney to her father.

"If you can help somebody, and it's your dad, you help somebody," she said.

Massad is fully recovering from his surgery, and said he has a lot of life to live.

"I have just felt wonderful," the gleaming father said. "It feels like my college years all over again."

Both Tritt and Massad said they are advocates for donation, and Methodist Houston said they're always looking for people willing to get tested to see if they are eligible to become a donor.