Married doctors from Delaware donate kidneys to complete strangers

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Medical professionals save lives every day by giving their time and skills.

But a pair of married physicians in Wilmington, Delaware took that a step further by actually giving the gift of life through organ donation.

Dr. Neil Kaye and Dr. Susan Donnelly have been married for 32 years.

They are not only physicians, but are also self-proclaimed adventurists.

Whether it is flying a helicopter, parasailing or dressing alike, you can count on them always being in unison.

As doctors, they are in the life-saving business, but they also wanted to give back in a more personal way.

Here's a sobering statistic: in the United States, 13 people die each day waiting for a kidney.

Neil and Susan were thankful for their own good health and wanted all of those people in need to have a similar quality of life, so they decided to donate their kidneys to complete strangers.

"The positive feeling that you get from it knowing you have done something so amazingly wonderful for someone else is a gift to you, the donor. Anyone can do this. It's a great feeling," Susan said.

While the decision may feel like a heavy one, Neil never hesitated.

As a doctor, he saw firsthand the taxing nature of dialysis.

"If you give someone a kidney, they don't need dialysis anymore, so they get back 20, 30 hours of a week every week to be a parent, be a spouse, do whatever they want to do," he said.

While some people may be intimidated by the procedure, it was done laparoscopically and both he and Susan spent just one night in the hospital.

In fact, Neil was back on the treadmill in about a week.

The generosity runs in the family: their niece also donated a kidney.