As this years Mother's Day comes around, I will be not only be thanking my mum for her love, kindness and dedication to me through out my life, but also for the time she underwent major surgery in order to me one of her vital organs. Back in 2012, I had a kidney transplant . The kidney that I received, which completely changed my life for the better, originally belonged to my mum. Suffering from total kidney failure after a year of serious illness due to heart failure - and an eventual heart transplant - I was attached to a dialysis machine in the hospital three times a week in order to be able to survive with no working kidneys. As a young girl trying to get her life back on track after a year off school, my quality of life was suffering. Luckily, the kidneys are one of the very few organs in the human body that can be donated by a living donor. With good enough kidney function, a person only needs one to live a healthy life. So, both of my parents were tested and my mum was a perfect match. On the day of opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 , what we call the 'great kidney exchange' took place and I received her kidney. I never had to have dialysis again. Now, thirteen years later, we are both living healthy lives with just one working kidney each - and I think that's pretty cool. When we celebrated World Kidney Day, I wrote about the importance of the organs, which are actually one of the five major vital organs of the body that we simply could not live without. While we all know how important the heart is at the centre of or bodies, how hard the brain works every day just to keep everything inside us running , the kidneys often get forgotten about. They are a silent pair of heroes working quietly in the background to keep everything in order and balance. The kidneys play a number of major roles in the body - the most important being filtering our blood. They remove excess waste products and fluids that we don't need, keeping our bodies in balance. Each of us is usually born with two and they work in tandem, sitting just below the ribcage and using millions of tiny filtration systems inside them called nephrons, to remove unwanted toxins, excess salts or minerals. Everything you don't need, they send to the bladder to be removed in the urine. They also constantly regulate fluid and electrolyte levels, as well as producing hormones that help in other bodily processes like the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow. The convert vitamin D into its active form, which is crucial for calcium absorption and bone health. Even more amazingly, we only need one healthy kidney to survive! It is clear that the kidneys are doing some heavy lifting when it comes to keeping the body going, which of course means that when they aren't working properly, toxins and fluid build up in the body and it can seriously effect our health. Not many people realise that a person can lose up to 90% of their kidney function without even realising. Before my transplant I wouldn't have survived more than a week or so without dialysis - a medical treatment that does the job of the kidneys by removing waste and fluid from the blood by taking it outside the body and putting it through a filter. The moment my new kidney was transplanted, my life changed for the better. My surgeon reported after that it had started working the moment they undid the clamps. Before, I was constantly fatigued and struggled to make it through the day. I was on a strict fluid allowance, only allowed to consume just 800mls a day - that's about one and half bottles of water. I wasn't even allowed to eat my favourite foods like chocolate, potatoes and tomatoes due to their high potassium content. Dialysis often drained me and left me feeling worse that before. My life did a 360 the second my mum's kidney started working its magic inside me. The majority of cases of kidney disease never get this serious and can usually be managed with a combination of medication and lifestyle adjustments. But still, 1 in 10 people in the UK suffer from kidney disease which equates to about 7.2 million people of all ages and backgrounds. Fiona Loud, Policy Director at Kidney Care UK, previously told the Mirror that looking after your kidneys is actually "pretty straightforward" and something everyone, no matter our age, should do. She said: "So everything from watching your weight, quitting smoking because it is bad for you heart, your cardiovascular system and particularly bad for you kidneys. Keep your salt intake down to about 6 grams a day maximum. Eat a healthy, balanced diet, keep your alcohol down to less than 14 units a week. " She also advised: "Stay hydrated and definitely watch your blood pressure as this is a sign of a problem. The message is that kidney disease can be really serious and that is why we want to talk more about the kidneys. In most cases, if you are diagnosed with kidney disease it can be prevented from deteriorating. There are new advances in treatment that will stop more people from advancing into serious chronic kidney disease." Fiona, who has also had a kidney transplant, mentioned that people with diabetes are even more susceptible to problems with their kidneys and should be extra vigilant and should encourage their doctors to do regular checks and blood tests. The same goes for people with a family history of kidney disease. The NHS provides a list of symptoms to look out for that may indicate kidney problems. I know first hand how important the kidneys are because for a year and a half of my life, I lived without a working one. Now, as they lie all shrivelled up and completely useless yet still inside me, my 'new' kidney, which had been in my mum for more that 40 years before it made it to me, does all the work. There isn't much I can say to describe how grateful I am for the gift she gave me. What can you really say to someone who saved your life? Although I will never be able to repay her, it is wonderful for both us to now know that no matter where we are or what we are doing, we will always share an incredibly special connection. Happy Mother's day to my mum, my hero. Find out more about organ donation here.