Ashley and Gilberto Munoz

Meet living donor, Ashley Munoz and her father, Gilberto Munoz, who received his daughter's kidney on December 14, 2022.

Ashley, 27, and Gilberto, 59, are from Edinburg, Texas. Ashley works as a pipeline inspector and her father is a bus driver. Mr. Munoz began to experience fatigue and became pale. After many visits with his doctor, Mr. Munoz was put on dialysis for about a year. It never crossed his mind that he would need a kidney transplant soon. During his time in the dialysis center, he was educated on living donor programs and after thorough research; he found that Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant had the number one program in the nation. “This hospital has great staff! I trusted them,” said Mr. Munoz.

Ashley wanted more time with her father, so she volunteered to be his donor in hopes that they were a match. Although Mr. Munoz felt nervous for his daughter about the complications of transplant surgery, he says Ashley was supportive and comforting. Their family was also extremely supportive of Mr. Munoz's transplant journey; if Ashley wasn't a match, her brother was going to be next in line to get tested.

Post-surgery, both Ashley and her father had a speedy recovery. “The entire transplant team was very responsive. I was constantly reassured about the procedure, and they would answers any questions I had,” says Ashley.

Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant is committed to excellence in kidney transplant care. To learn more please visit our kidney transplant services page.