Jarrett Jivan and Chris Maybroda have been friends for over 30 years, meeting when they were classmates in elementary school in Winnipeg and staying in touch even after Jivan moved away to Ontario.

Jivan has always been active, becoming an avid runner who loved to train for marathons. But in early 2016, he knew something was wrong when he noticed he didn鈥檛 have the strength to even walk down the street.

Jivan鈥檚 doctor told him in February of that year that something was wrong with his kidneys. Then, in April, his condition rapidly worsened.

鈥淥n April 1, I went into the doctor and I kind of surprised the nursing student there because my blood pressure was so high鈥� Within about 12 days, on my 43rd birthday, I was diagnosed with not only kidney disease, but end-stage renal failure,鈥� he told CTV Calgary by internet call from his home in Burlington, Ont.

Jivan began using dialysis to take over the work of his ailing kidneys. But a year later, even that was no longer enough, with his kidneys functioning at only 3 per cent capacity. He needed a kidney transplant, and fast.

鈥淚t was shocking because it came on so fast,鈥� he recalls, 鈥渁nd you start telling your family and friends first.鈥�

Thanks to social media, Jivan was able to get the word out that he needed to find a kidney donor. Several people offered to help. One of them was Maybroda.

鈥淚 looked at my wife and said, 鈥極f course I鈥檓 donating if I can, or getting tested.鈥� And she said, 鈥極f course you are鈥�,鈥� Maybroda recalled.

He ended up being a perfect match. So in January, Maybroda travelled to Ontario where Jivan lives, and underwent a six-hour procedure to donate his kidney. He says it was the least he could do.

鈥淧eople like my grandfather fought in wars to protect people he didn鈥檛 even know,鈥� he explained, his voice filled with emotion. 鈥淐ertainly, I can step up and donate to a guy I鈥檝e known for 35 years.鈥�

Jivan says he is eternally thankful to his friend.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 repay something like that. It鈥檚 just the generosity of Chris is amazing. He never thought twice about it,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t means so much in terms of medical freedom for me, to live a normal life again.鈥�

Jivan encourages everyone to fill out and sign their organ donation cards.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 very important in terms of having enough donors out there to meet the needs. Right now, across Canada, I think there are 4,800 people on the waiting list for organ transplant and 80 percent of those are for kidneys and there just isn鈥檛 enough supply out there.鈥�

With a report from CTV Calgary鈥檚 Ina Sidhu