FORT WORTH, Texas — As is often the case with ex-spouses, Amanda McCowen was not exactly enthusiastic when Joshua Maples, her former husband and father of her two children, married again.

“Automatically upon meeting her, I had formed this thing in my mind — ‘I’m just not going to like her.’ These are my children and I’m not going to share them with anybody,” McCowen readily admitted.

Angela Maples and Amanda McCowen

But through a decade of co-parenting with Angela Maples and navigating the challenges that came with it, the tension between the two women gradually gave way to something unexpected: an incredible friendship.

“We started off just doing what was in the best interest of our children, but it turned into a genuine, caring relationship,” Angela Maples said.

So genuine that when Maples learned she was in renal failure and needed a kidney, McCowen didn’t hesitate to donate one of her own.

On Oct. 13, the women underwent transplant surgery at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth and are now sharing their story in hopes others will consider becoming living-kidney donors.

Of the more than 100,000 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants, about 86% are in need of a kidney, according to Donate Life America.

“Every day, thousands wait for a kidney transplant, but the number of available donors falls heartbreakingly short,” said Eric Siskind, M.D., a transplant surgeon with Texas Health Surgical Specialists. “Living donors aren’t just giving an organ — they’re giving time, hope and a second chance at life.”

Since 1986, Texas Health Fort Worth’s kidney transplant program has facilitated 1,361 transplants, including 200 involving living donors such as McCowen. Getting a kidney from a living donor shortens the wait for a transplant. Also, the organ is typically healthier, often works immediately and has a longer life span than one from a deceased donor.

"We’ve seen incredible acts of generosity, like patients donating to strangers and a mother giving a kidney to her children’s teacher, but to our knowledge, this is the first time we’ve had someone provide a kidney to the spouse of an ex," said Robyn Dye, transplant program administrator for the hospital. "Their relationship is truly inspiring, showing how compassion can transcend the past. Texas Health is so honored to be part of their remarkable transplant journey."

Joshua Maples said he believes God’s hand was at work when his ex-wife chose to donate a kidney to his new wife.

“Their relationship has grown tremendously thorough this,” Joshua Maples said. “It’s taught me a lot about love and forgiveness.”

McCowen said while she knew undergoing surgery would have its challenges, they paled in comparison to the struggles she saw Angela Maples enduring, including 14-hour dialysis treatments. She said it opened her eyes to the many little things people take for granted.

“On a daily basis, we grumble about ‘We’ve got to go to this event after school for our child’ or ‘I’ve got to stop at the grocery store after work,’ but these are things she was praying to even be able to do again in life,” McCowen said. “It was very, very humbling.”

For Angela Maples, the family’s story is rooted in love, forgiveness and faith in God. She recommends that others waiting for a kidney transplant to reach out to family, friends and acquaintances, because you never know who might step forward.

“She literally saved my life,” Angela Maples said. “If I can give just a little bit of hope to the hopeless and a little bit of faith to the faithless and inspire some courage, then I’ve done my job.”

Learn more about becoming a kidney donor here.