Date Posted: 6/16/2008

PARTANBURG, S.C. - Fathers across the country are unwrapping power tools and other gadgets today while celebrating Father's Day, but Jackie Tyner received a gift that's extending his life and makes him very proud.

Tyner's daughter Allie, 21, donated one of her kidneys to him last month.

"I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world," Tyner said.

Tyner was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney disease and received a kidney from his father, Jack Tyner, almost 24 years ago. Kidney transplants typically last 10 years or less, but Tyner's was good for 21 years before he needed a replacement.

His brother and sister attempted to donate, but they weren't good matches. It took a year for him to get on a list to receive a kidney, and he'd probably still be waiting if it weren't for Allie.

According to LifePoint, an organization providing organ and tissue donations in the state, 672 South Carolinians are on a waiting list for a kidney. Mark Johnson, spokesman for LifePoint, said 18 people a day die in the United States while waiting for organ donations because there aren't enough donors.

It was difficult enough to ask a sibling to donate a kidney, and Tyner would have never considered asking his three children. Allie, his eldest child, said she felt kind of left out because she was never asked to donate, but she wanted to see her dad's quality of life improve.

Tyner underwent dialysis three days a week for more than two years. If he wasn't hooked to a dialysis machine, he was probably in bed. He couldn't enjoy vacations with his kids and had to stop coaching his son's youth baseball team.

"I wanted him to have a life," Allie said.

So, she decided to get tested in December. She casually mentioned to her dad that she would donate, but they didn't seriously talk about it.

"I didn't want him to be disappointed with me having all of these tests and it not being a match," said Allie, who underwent several tests, including one at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, before it was determined she was a match.

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