Hooters waitress and longtime regular customer expected to recover following surgery

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'It's a perfect match!' Hooters waitress donates kidney to regular customer
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Waitress Mariana Villarreal works at a Hooters in Roswell, Georgia and wrote on Saturday following the surgery that kidney was a perfect match
Don Thomas, a father of two who lost both of his kidneys to cancer, is a regular patron at the restaurant
Doctors said operation was a success and both are expected to recover

By Myriah Towner and Evan Bleier For Dailymail.com

Published: 21:49 EST, 30 May 2015 | Updated: 22:26 EST, 30 May 2015

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A Hooters waitress and a longtime regular customer who she donated a kidney to are out of surgery and doctors say the operation was a success.

Mariana Villarreal, who works at a Hooters in Roswell, Georgia, shared in a post on social media that the kidney was a perfect match following the surgery.

She donated one of her kidneys to Don Thomas after he lost both of his to cancer. He has been a regular at the restaurant for more than 10 years, she said.

On Friday they underwent surgery and are expected to recover, WXIA-TV reported.

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Mariana Villarreal, who works at a Hooters in Georgia, shared on social media that following the surgery the kidney was a perfect match. She donated one of her kidneys to Don Thomas, a frequent patron of the restaurant, after he lost both of his to cancer (Villarreal and Thomas pictured post surgery)

On Friday, Villarreal and Thomas went into surgery and are expected to recover. Doctors said the operation was a success

Villarreal wrote in a post on Instagram: 'Thank you all so much for the kind words! It means a lot to me that everyone has taken a second to comment and wish me well! The kidney is a PERFECT match and is working amazingly!'

'Thank you all so much for the kind words! It means a lot to me that everyone has taken a second to comment and wish me well! The kidney is a PERFECT match and is working amazingly! As for me my kidney is working like there's still 2 in there,' Villarreal wrote in a post on Instagram.

'I know God will watch over us for the rest of our lives and may the glory always be for the lord of lords! Once again thank you all!'

Thomas is a frequent patron of the Hooters, and Villarreal is an employee at the establishment, but hasn't worked there for an extended period of time.

Villarreal and Thomas barely know each other, but the sympathetic server recently lost her grandmother to kidney failure and said she felt inspired to help the loyal customer, according to WXIA-TV.

Villarreal and Thomas barely know each other, but the sympathetic server recently lost her grandmother to kidney failure and said she felt inspired to help the loyal customer

Thomas, who is a Vietnam War veteran, suffered a kidney failure a few years after his wife passed away from breast cancer, according to Villarreal

Villarreal is an employee at the establishment (above), but hasn't worked there for an extended period of time

'I wasn't able to do anything for my grandma,' she told the station. 'If [Don] can live two more years, happy as he's ever been, that's fine with me.

'That's not up to me. I did my part, now it's God's turn to keep him alive.'

On the day of the surgery Villarreal shared on Instagram that Thomas, also known as The Don by staffers at the restaurant, is a Vietnam War veteran and father of two who will have a chance to live a normal life again.

The Hooters waitress recently lost her grandmother to kidney failure and says she felt inspired to help the loyal customer

She said his wife passed away from breast cancer and a few years later he had kidney failure.

'After 3 months of working there and knowing him God answered my prayer but most important answered his prayer of years! I've been praying for God to answer me if donating one of my kidneys was the right thing to do and The Don was praying for a donor that may have never appeared,' the post read.

'He sent me to this world to serve him and others and as a daughter of God I offered him one of my kidneys. Many people think I'm crazy because of the age difference but then again age is just a number, it's how young your heart is and your desire to live.

'Around the same time I met him my grandmother was going through something similar but I wasn't able to help her and it will forever be in my heart. My higher calling maybe wasn't for my grandma but for a complete stranger.

'NO he's not paying me for a kidney or tips me really good, just to clarify ! He's just an ordinary person with the desire to live a few more years.

'If he can live 2 more year the happiest he's ever been without having to sit in a room 3 times a week filtering his blood for 8 hours and finally have a full glass of water or finally get to pee again then go ahead take my kidney.

'I know God will give him way more years to come. All I ask is for prayers and for all of you to be thankful that you're healthy and alive because some people do have it worst! #godisgood.'

On Saturday night the waitress shared on Twitter that she was home following the surgery (above)

Villarreal said: 'Around the same time I met him my grandmother was going through something similar but I wasn't able to help her and it will forever be in my heart. My higher calling maybe wasn't for my grandma but for a complete stranger'

The Hooters waitress will be in recovery for the next six weeks and has since started a GoFundMe page to help Thomas and her while they recover following the surgery

On Friday, Hooters wrote on Twitter about their employee saying she was an inspiration.

The tweet read: 'You truly are an inspiration, Mariana!'

Ahead of the operation, Dr Harrison Pollinger, one of the program directors of the Piedmont Transplant Institute, said both donor and recipient should be able to live healthy lives after the surgery.

Villarreal said she hopes their story will inspire others to donate organs to those in need.

'Mariana and I are just two normal people,' said Thomas.

'One who needs help - me - and Mariana who is so willing to give help.'

Following the surgery, Villarreal started a GoFundMe page to help Thomas and herself while they recover. By Saturday evening, $350 had been donated.