BATON ROUGE - A nurse's generosity saved the life of a teen needing critical surgery.

Last summer, WBRZ spoke to Lauren Swanson, a teenager living with a life-threatening disease. In 2020, she spent nearly a month in Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital after what her family thought was an allergic reaction turned out to be a life-threatening autoimmune disease that attacks her kidneys.

In the fall, the search for a kidney donor went into overdrive when her condition worsened. That’s when nurse Lori Vaughn stepped into the picture. Vaughn says she saw a post on social media about Lauren needing a kidney transplant.

"I just felt the need to do something," Vaughn said. "[I] went home that evening, spoke to my husband and my children and the next day got in touch with Iowa."

Lauren receives regular treatments from the University of Iowa Health Center. Lori Vaughn has been a nurse for 20 years. She says helping Lauren was a chance to help give someone a new opportunity at life. Vaughn says at that point, it was only a matter of time before doctors knew she was a match.

"[It was] a lot of blood draws, a lot of blood work, a lot of phone conversations, a lot of testing,” Vaughn said.

On February 1st, the transplant was a success. Vaughn says the pair keeps in touch and says she’s spreading the word about living organ donation.

“It is a big commitment on the part of the living donor, but it's doable,” Vaughn said. “God gave you two kidneys, you don't really need two kidneys."