Most women dread their birthday each year, but not Jane Barrett -- she celebrates two of them.

Barrett, of Ross, wasn't sure she'd celebrate a birthday in the 1990s, let alone in the new millennium. But a kidney transplant in 1988 gave her a second shot at life.

"In March I'll be celebrating my 20th 'anniversary' and I'm so proud I've made it this far," Barrett said. "My life has been wonderful now, and that wouldn't have been possible. Each birthday I've had, it's just been remarkable."

It all started when Barrett contracted a strep virus that she thought she recovered from. Unfortunately, the virus progressed to her kidney and eventually destroyed the endocrine organ. After discovering she would need an organ transplant, Barrett said she carried a beeper, waiting for the call to tell her the hospital would have a kidney that might be a match for hers.

Back in 1988, Barrett waited just six months for a kidney. In 2007, transplant recipients can wait more than three years, said Bill Morris, executive director of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center transplant services. The difference is that there are substantially more people waiting for kidneys, the most in-demand organ for transplant, Morris said.

The wait takes a toll on patients, Morris said, and support from family and friends is essential.

"It is tough," Morris said. "Through the process, it's tough on the caregiver as well, and may be tougher on them as they watch their loved one's condition deteriorate."

Barrett doesn't know the identity of her donor's family, but every year, on March 2, she sends a note through CORE to the family of her donor. They have never responded, but Barrett said she is extremely grateful for their generosity.

That donor, an 11-month-old baby, would have been a college student now. While Barrett does not know any of the circumstances around her receiving the child's kidney, she is amazed by what the family chose to do.

"They are just a remarkable, re-markable family," Barrett said. "That somebody who doesn't know me would be so generous to donate was just un-believable."

The legacy that small child left is a compelling one for someone to become an organ donor, Morris said.

"The legacy most people leave behind is how they live their life," Morris said. "The legacy of an organ donor is someone ordinary doing something extraordinary at the end of their life. It's a selfless act of love for your neighbor."

Barrett knows that waiting for that act can be nerve-racking, but she encourages those who wait for an organ to stay healthy and keep a good attitude. Twenty years later, she's still on anti-rejection drugs, but she works, regularly plays tennis and lives life just like anyone else.

"You have to take it one day at a time," Barrett said. "I never thought I would have this longevity. Organ donation can do phenomenal things."