Eli Cortez received a lifesaving kidney from his brother in July 2007.

Elizandro "Eli" Cortez knew he was in trouble. His uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension had taken their toll and his kidneys started to fail.

"My body swelled up with fluids and my weight shot up to 300 pounds," Eli says. "I couldn't sleep at night. I could hear myself gurgling."

Eli put off seeing a doctor as long as he could. Finally, with his kidneys in failure and the level of toxins increasing in his body, the 41-year old father of three relented to pressure from his family and went to the hospital.

"The doctor came in and said ‘Son, you're kidneys are gone,'" reports Eli. That report left Eli with two alternatives: dialysis or transplant. "I needed four-hour treatments three days a week for the rest of my life, or I would die," he says. "I was miserable."

After several weeks of lifesaving dialysis treatments at The South Texas Transplant Center at McAllen Medical Center, Eli got some great news. His half-brother, Andres "Andy" Mora, had decided to donate one of his kidneys to help save Eli's life.

In July 2007, Eli and Andy became the first live donor and the first kidney transplant recipient at McAllen Medical Center.

"It's really a wonderful thing that we did together," Andy says. "Eli has a second chance at life, and I'm as healthy and active as I was before surgery."

As for Eli, the Rio Grande Valley resident has a new outlook on life.

"I'm feeling like a lion," Eli says, adding that he now exercises regularly and is able to enjoy everything life has to offer. "Everyone at The South Texas Transplant Center took very good care of us," Eli says, adding that he was glad to be able to get the care he needed here in the Valley.

"You don't have to go to Houston or San Antonio," he says. "You can get the same care right here in your own back yard."