Submitted Photo / Christine Brauss, Fred Martin and Patti Martin will all be honored during the 2009 Gift of Life Gala on Nov. 7 in Dallas. Brauss is a two-time transplant recipient who received one kidney from her mother Patti in 1985 and another from her brother Fred in 1996. Since the surgeries, Brauss and the Martins have been tireless advocates for organ donation and transplantation.

The National Kidney Foundation Serving North Texas will honor local individuals on the giving and receiving end of organ donation at the 2009 Gift of Life Gala Nov. 7.

Plano resident Christine Brauss will receive the Gift of Life award as a two-time kidney transplant recipient and tireless community advocate.

"With all the different awards and recognitions I've received over the years, I am extremely honored to receive this one," she said. "It's a huge honor."

Brauss' journey with organ donation began when she was diagnosed with renal failure at age 6.

"Back then, when a kidney was failing, doctors just took it out," she said. "It amazes me how far medicine has evolved since then."

At 21, Brauss said more problems began arising.

"I had high blood pressure and eventually lost my remaining kidney. I went on three years of dialysis after that," she said. "That's when my mom had enough and said that I was too young to live on a machine and tested to be a kidney donor."

Brauss' mother, Patti Martin, tested a three out of six for a match - meaning that Martin's kidney would work as a donor to Brauss but might require more anti-rejection drugs and other drugs to support growth.

"I was fine after that and my mother's kidney lasted 12 years before I lost it," Brauss said. "The doctors said the anti-rejection medications had been toxic to the new kidney."

In 1996, Brauss received a second kidney, donated by her brother. Tests showed that her brother tested a six out of six match.

"My sister needed me; she called, and given the history, I knew what she was up against," said Fred Martin. "I love my sister so dearly that there was never a hesitation when she needed me."

Since the surgery, both brother and sister have been in good health and served as advocates for organ donation and transplant surgery.

"It's very important to spread awareness because organ transplants save lives," Martin said. "The gift of life to anybody is indescribable and a wonderful thing."

Brauss and Martin also work together to organize a yearly golf tournament to raise funds for the National Kidney Foundation Serving North Texas' Camp Reynal, a camp for children with kidney disease.

"I am proud to be able to do what I do with the National Kidney Foundation, with and in honor of my sister," Martin said. "When I go to places and my donation is brought up, it's always received in a positive and good light. There are so many success stories, and my sister is just one of them."

Though she hasn't received it yet, Brauss said the Gift of Life award has encouraged her to be more active in the community to continue promoting and spreading awareness of organ donation and transplantation.

"Lots of lives can be saved through transplantation, especially those who suffer from kidney failure," she said. "Many people don't realize that we can live on just one kidney."