text: Michigan nurse donates kidney to her patient 
   
   Iris Zink, MSN, RN, went above and beyond the call of duty to keep patients healthy by donating a kidney to one of her longtime patients at Lansing (Mich.) Rheumatology, reports Fox 47 News. 
   
   The rheumatology-certified nurse practitioner has treated the patient, Ginny Holcomb, for more than 15 years. When Ms. Holcomb was diagnosed with kidney cancer, Ms. Zink said she didn't think twice about donating a kidney. 
   
   "There was just no hesitation. I didn't want to see her die. I couldn't watch it," Ms. Zink told Fox 47 News. 
   
   The women learned they were a perfect match after about a year of tests and underwent the transplant in July. Ms. Zink has fully recovered from the surgery, and Ms. Holcomb's condition is improving. 
   
   "We're bonded for life; she's got part of me in her," Ms. Zink told Fox 47 News. 
   
   Ms. Holcomb responded, "It's a beautiful thing to have someone else's body part in you." 
   
   The women said they hope their story inspires other people to consider organ donation. 
   
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   © Copyright ASC COMMUNICATIONS 2019. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies by clicking here. ||||| When one of Iris Zink's patients was diagnosed with kidney cancer, she offered the woman one of her own. 
   
   Zink has been a nurse for about 18 years, and often becomes friends with her patients. But her friendship with one patient proved to be life-saving. 
   
   "She's just always trying to make everyone laugh despite the hardship she is going through. There was just no hesitation. I didn't want to see her die. I couldn't watch it," Zink said. 
   
   It was Ginny Holcomb's personality and giving spirit that drew Zink to her. The nurse practitioner had been treating Holcomb for over 15 years and the two had become best friends. 
   
   Zink says that she didn't think twice when it came to giving Holcomb a kidney after she saw the patient's start to fail. 
   
   After about a year of tests, Zink got the news: They were a perfect match. 
   
   "So then I think this must be what my purpose is. My purpose must be to keep her healthy and donate her a kidney," Zink said. 
   
   Zink then called Holcomb to tell her. 
   
   Holcomb was reluctant at first but ultimately accepted her offer. 
   
   "Well, she told me over the phone and I just started crying. It was, I think, a God moment that she said she was a match and she wanted to do it," Holcomb said. 
   
   The two had the surgery in July. Zink says that she is back to 100 percent, while Holcomb's condition continues to improve. 
   
   The two talk daily and even have necklaces shaped like kidneys to represent their everlasting, life-saving friendship. They tell me this just made them part of each other's lives forever. 
   
   "We're bonded for life; she's got part of me in her," Zink said. 
   
   "It's a beautiful thing to have someone else's body part in you," Holcomb added. 
   
   The said they wanted to share their story to inspire others to donate. Both say the other is the hero of this story. 
   
   For more information on being a donor, visit kidney.org/transplantation/beadonor
target: – Everyone hopes for a caring and compassionate nurse when they're ailing, but one Michigan woman's caretaker went "above and beyond the call of duty," per Becker's Hospital Review. For more than 15 years, nurse practitioner Iris Zink has treated Ginny Holcomb at Lansing Rheumatology, and the two have become close friends. Then Holcomb found out she had kidney cancer, and Zink "didn't think twice" about what she had to do, per FOX 47 News. She decided to donate one of her own kidneys to her longtime friend. "There was just no hesitation," Zink says. "I didn't want to see her die. I couldn't watch it." The women went through a battery of tests that took a year to complete, and Zink found out she was a perfect match. Holcomb initially balked at taking Zink's kidney, but she finally acquiesced. "I just started crying," Holcomb says of that phone call from Zink. "It was, I think, a God moment." The pair underwent surgery in July to complete the transplant; Zink is already completely recovered, while Holcomb is still recuperating. In the meantime, they sport matching kidney-shaped necklaces to commemorate their shared experience, and organ. "It's a beautiful thing to have someone else's body part in you," Holcomb says. (A kidney transplant patient in Indiana married his donor.)