North Texas mother donates kidney to daughter in live-streamed surgery

A North Texas mother donated a kidney to her daughter in a transplant procedure streamed live on Facebook.

Cedar Hill resident Jessica Gutierrez, 20, was the recipient of the organ. Her mother decided to give one of her kidneys to her daughter after finding out she was a match. The operation was streamed live by Methodist Dallas on Friday morning.

Gutierrez was in stage four kidney failure, meaning she had lost up to 90 percent of her kidney function. The operation likely saved her life.

"My mom is giving me life for the second time," Gutierrez said in a press release.

Surgeons and experts at the hospital narrated the event, explaining each step of the surgery. The operation was performed by Dr. Alejandro Mejia, the Executive Director of Organ Transplant at the hospital’s transplant institute, and Dr. Richard Dickerman.

The hospital streamed the event in order to educate the public about kidney transplants. They hope that it will bring increased awareness of the plight of those who need a transplant, many of whom have to wait for years to find a match.

More than 44,000 people watched -- among them, Maribel and Jessica's family in El Salvador. Dr. Dickerman has done 3,000 kidney transplants, but never before have so many watched.

“I think the educational part of it is terrific. Hopefully this will be one more thing to help organ donation,” Dr. Dickerman said.

To remove the kidney from Maribel, Dr. Alejandro Mejia directed robotic arms -- a relatively new technique.

People watching were able to post questions that the doctors answered.

Jessica's prognosis is now good. The hospital has a 100 percent survival rate after 5 years.

Click here for the link to the surgery. Be warned, the contents are graphic.