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Daughter Donates Kidney To Mother

LEOMINSTER (CBS) -- A young woman in Leominster has given her mother the gift of a lifetime.

Ashlee Masone has donated one of kidneys to her mother, Julie.

WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill reports.

Julie was born with polycystic kidney disease and needed a life-saving transplant when she was nine years old. Doctors tested all seven of her brothers and sisters, and her sister Chrissy was a match. She donated her kidney and it lasted 34 years.

But two years ago, that kidney started to fail and Julie had to start dialysis.

"She started dialysis and it was hard to watch because I want her to be there to see me get married and graduate. So it wasn't anything I even thought about at all," said Ashlee.

"I was very scared. I had mixed emotions," said Julie. "I don't want anything to happened to her, but I want to be around for her life and her career."

The kidney started working right away, and Julie says she is now feeling much better.

The Masones hope others will become organ donors.

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