Wilson woman donates kidney to priest battling kidney failure

WILSON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The holidays are known as the "season of giving".

A woman in Wilson is giving the ultimate gift of love, selflessness, and life.

Antoinette Pinell is a wife, and mother of four, and works for "Dress for Success", a nonprofit organization.

She is preparing to donate her kidney to Father Andy Hook, who is an Episcopal priest at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Springfield, Illinois.

Pinell first learned about Hook's need from her husband Daniel who is also a priest. Hook has been battling kidney failure for more than two years and was in need of a transplant.

Pinell said the decision to become a donor is personal because her brother's life was saved by a heart transplant.

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"It's more than just the warm fuzzies. It's that it's a sense of gratitude for everything that I've been given because I haven't coasted through this life on my own. You meet people, friends, strangers, family that give you a helping hand along the way. And so it's just something that I feel is really important to live out. Just in terms of how to make the world a better place," she said.

Pinell is raising money for the trip. While they met their first goal of $5,000 in 24 hours, they increased the amount to $10,000 to help Hook with medical costs that were not covered by his insurance.

The surgery is scheduled for January.