A Kingston woman has a new lease on life thanks to a friend from her church.

Annakay Dennis was diagnosed with Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, when she was 9 years old. She says it caused her to get rashes, joint point, fatigue, fevers and eventually kidney failure.

The 24-year-old was on dialysis for two years as she waited for a lifesaving transplant.

"I always trust in God and believe that he'd send someone my way and he did," Dennis said.

Dennis met Jennifer Buda at the Abundant Life Tabernacle Church in Kingston six years ago.

Buda was concerned for Dennis and wondered if she could be a match.

The staff at Westchester Medical Center say it's rare for the donor and recipient of a kidney transplant not to be related, but Dennis and Buda were one of those cases.

The two friends underwent the transplant procedure last Friday and doctors say they're both doing well.

"It's just the opportunity of a lifetime, like, just to make a difference in someone's life," Buda says. "To live, to live healthier, to live longer."

Dennis says with her new chance at life she hopes to open her own catering business.

New York has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the country.