- Hello, and welcome to Living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

April is National Donate Life Month, recognized to raise awareness about organ donation and how it benefits those who need a transplant.

I met a two-time kidney transplant recipient to talk about how new kidneys gave him his life back.

- ♪♪ I've spent my life ♪ Looking for you... - With one on the guitar and the other on piano, Duane and Lisa Hawk's gift to the world is their music.

- ♪ I knew it was you all the while... ♪♪ We do country and gospel music.

We'll do church services, like for special music, things like that.

We run our own equipment.

- Over their nearly 40 years of marriage and during their careers as piano tuners, the couple says they've fine-tuned their hearing to make up for what they don't have - their sight.

- My mom had German measles when she was pregnant with me, and I was born blind.

- I was born with a disease called retinitis pigmentosa.

What it is, is you start with a narrowed field of vision, and the retina just keeps deteriorating so that eventually, you have just a pinpoint of light.

- The Hawks don't let their lack of vision define them.

They've made a life by sharing their musical gifts with the world.

- Music is a big part of our lives.

- But on two occasions, Duane has needed a gift himself.

- On October 2nd of 1994, then I got my first transplant.

And that guy lasted 22 years.

That was put in at Lehigh Valley.

- At the age of 34, the Palmerton native was told he needed a new kidney due to the side effects of his blood pressure medication.

- I was scared for him.

- I was scared for me, hoping that I could do what I needed to do to help him.

It was a scary time for us.

- Duane turned to Lehigh Valley Health Network Transplant Surgery at Cedar Crest, in the Allentown area.

It's one of the only locations in the region to perform kidney and pancreas transplant surgery.

- It was a long wait, a very stressful wait.

- I was on dialysis for about six-and-a-half years, and then, September 1st of '21, I got my new buddy.

And life is great, 18 months out, and I'm doing well.

- It gets people off dialysis, gives them their life back, and gives them better health.

- Dr. Christine Du is the transplant surgeon who treated Duane the second time around.

- Ultimately, they will do better with a kidney transplant than remaining on dialysis.

Dialysis is hard on the body, and transplant can give their health back and a better quality of life back, as well.

But a transplant journey can be long and it's not always easy, but it's definitely worth it.

The doctor says it's not uncommon for a kidney transplant recipient to need another one, especially if the first was done early in life.

She adds that how long that kidney will work also depends on the type of transplant.

- We tell our patients for a deceased donor, kidney transplant, on average can last anywhere from 8-12 years.

A living donor, kidney transplant, anywhere from 15-18 years.

So unfortunately, kidney transplants, they don't last forever.

- Du says because living organs lasts so much longer, she feels it's so important to get the word out about becoming an organ donor.

- Our goal with living donation is that we are looking for people who want to donate their kidney to help somebody, and that they can live the rest of their life with only one kidney.

- That kidney could be the reason people like Duane get to live a longer, fulfilled life.

- I'm feeling awesome.

My weight is down.

I weigh what I weighed when I graduated high school.

Blood pressure is good.

Sugar is under control.

- Duane says this time around, technology has made recovery easier.

But he couldn't do it without his partner by his side.

- The most important part that I can tell you about any medical procedure is your support system.

And I have the best.

I have a great family.

I couldn't get any better.

- When I sit and think about our lives together, it's just unbelievable, because God has blessed us in so many ways with such good families, such good friends, and He has given us so many opportunities that most people would not even dream of having.

- Although there's no way to tell exactly how far his kidney will take him, the guitar player is using his second chance to get back to doing what he loves with his love.

- Dr. Christine Du says most of the time, there are no lasting symptoms from a kidney transplant, although the recipient will have to be on anti-rejection medication for as long as they have that organ.

She adds, the average wait time for a kidney is about six years in this area, once someone gets on the national organ transplant waiting list.

That will do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley, I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.