CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) — April 7 is National Living Donor Day and a Centennial couple is showing their gratitude after their daughter received a kidney transplant from her aunt.

In October 2018, Lindsey Miner donated one of her kidneys to her niece Beckett Nakazono, and now the five-year-old girl is thriving.

“Lindsey will forever be Beckett’s hero because she literally saved her life, and Beckett knows that,” said Molly Nakazono, Beckett’s mother.

When Beckett was just 2 years old, she was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases that caused kidney failure.

Doctors at Children’s Hospital Colorado told her parents that she would need a kidney transplant.

“It’s always very hard to have to tell parents who previously had a healthy, thriving child that their kid has kidney failure and is ultimately going to need dialysis and transplant, but the good thing about transplant is it provides families with hope,” said Dr. Melisha Hanna, a pediatric nephrologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Molly and her husband, Kurt, decided a living donor would be their best option, and Molly’s sister, Lindsey, was a perfect match. She had her surgery at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and Beckett had the kidney transplant across the street at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

When Beckett woke up from surgery, her mother says she felt better instantly.

“She was sitting up in bed. There was color in her face,” Molly said.

Now Beckett is living a full life, and the family is grateful.

“I can’t thank Lindsey enough for what she did, and I mean we see it every day, we see what she did for us,” Molly said.

She hopes other people know what a difference they can make if they choose to become a living donor.

If you are interested in more information on how to be a living donor, you can check here.