Dad tears up learning daughter secretly donated a kidney to him. ‘I can’t stop crying’

When John Ivanowski learned he was going to need a new kidney, his daughter suggested donating one of her kidneys to him, according to KMOV. But the Missouri father was against it.

“I’m like, ‘You’re too young, you’ve got a long time to be here and my time’s limited,’” Ivanowski recalled to the TV station.

But his daughter, Delayne Ivanowski, wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

In a GoFundMe, the Kirkwood woman describes her dad as a stubborn man who first learned he was in kidney failure a few years ago. In denial, he had a new set of lab tests done, but they confirmed his kidneys were failing.

He eventually became really sick, she said, and his lab results were even worse than before.

“The doctor informed my dad that he was not sure if he had 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months to live,” Delayne Ivanowski wrote. “The doctor ordered an emergency catheter placement into my dads chest so he could start emergent dialysis.”

While the dialysis helped, it was not a perfect solution.

“For over a year, he’s been hooked up to a machine for three four five hours a day,” she told KMOV. “It’s not the right quality of life I don’t think anyone should have to live in.”

So during that time, she secretly began the process to see if she could be a suitable organ donor.

“John had no idea I was going through the testing,” she said in the GoFundMe post. “After numerous blood draws, EKG, chest x-ray, CT scan, I got the call. I was a match!”

Her dad received one of her kidneys Feb. 16, according to KMOV. But she still hadn’t told him.

It wasn’t until the next day that Delayne Ivanowski shared she was her dad’s kidney donor.

“The secrets finally out,” she wrote Feb. 17. “My kidney is working fantastically in my dad! The support I have received has been truly incredible. Here’s to donating life.”

The heartwarming moment was captured in a tearful video she also shared to Facebook. In the video, she is seen walking into her dad’s hospital room to reveal herself as his kidney donor.

“Grab the tissues,” she said when posting the video.

She strolled into the room in her hospital gown — and connected to an IV — as her dad quickly reacted.

“Oh my God,” he said. “Are you kidding me?”

John Ivanowski began to tear up as his daughter reassured him.

“It’s so good,” she said. “It’s OK. It’s OK.”

“I knew you were up to something,” he said.

“That’s OK,” his daughter replied. “I’m always up to something.”

John Ivanowski has since been able to go home, KMOV reported, where he was still processing his emotions.

“I can’t stop crying,” he told the outlet. “I mean I was upset but I’m so grateful.”

Kirkwood is a western suburb of St. Louis.