Stranger decides to donate kidney to save sick 2-year-old girl

Arianna Moore (L) with her mother, Ashley Moore (R). (My Fox Twin Cities)

It's not uncommon for patients who need donor organs to wait weeks, months or even years. But it is a bit unusual to find a donor via Facebook.

When she was just 7 weeks old, Arianna Moore's kidney failed. Two years later, she's going to be getting a new one thanks to the generosity of a woman who was a complete stranger -- until an online effort caught her eye.

Most people may never know by watching the rambunctious 2-year-old play with her twin sister, but she is in desperate need of a life-saving organ transplant.

"She makes it a little easier because she's so happy," Ashley Moore, Arianna's mother, told Fox 9 News. "The hardest times are when she's sick."

Arianna Moore suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes scarring of the kidney, and she must undergo 10 hours of dialysis every day.

"When I had her, and they said, 'Her kidneys don't work,' I was like, "What do you mean? She's a baby,'" Ashley Moore recalled. "She was completely healthy at birth."

Now, she is 10 pounds lighter and about 4 inches shorter than her twin sister -- but she is looking toward a surgery that could put her on a track to good health.

A family member started a Facebook page to promote a benefit for the toddler, but that ended up bringing an even bigger dose of support for the family.

"I didn't feel confident finding a donor on Facebook when we couldn't even find it in our own family," Ashley Moore admitted.

Yet, a donor was found. A woman who was more than 1,500 miles away in Jacksonville, Fla., learned about Moore's condition and decided she had to help.

"I get really sad over sick children, so I usually skim those posts kind of quickly," Christy Harding said. "This is the first time that I've stopped."

Harding told Fox 9 News that something about Moore's story made her wonder if she could be a match. So, she began to undergo tests and eventually flew to the Twin Cities for a special blood test before contacting the family and offering to become a donor.