A two-year-old boy from Sudbury, Ont. is recovering after receiving a kidney from an organ donor. Now that donor is sharing her own story of losing her own son to kidney disease, and what ultimately compelled her to give the gift of life.

Late last year, Desiree and Darren Lamoureux made a plea for their son Taylum, who was born with a rare form of polycystic kidney disease. Only one in four babies with Taylum's condition survive.

Because of the disease, Taylum required daily dialysis treatment in hospital. This forced Desiree Lamoureux and Taylum to move to Toronto so he could receive treatment, while his father remained in Sudbury to continue working as an electrician.

Last December, the Ontario Toyota Dealers Wishmaker campaign gave the family a cheque for $25,000 and a new Toyota Corolla. But it was ultimately another mother who had gone through a similar experience that would end up giving the biggest gift of all.

Donor Michelle MacKinnon's son David also suffered from kidney disease. When he became a teenager, MacKinnon and her husband decided to get tested to see if they would be a match for donation.

It was determined through testing that she was a perfect match for her son. However, days before the scheduled surgery, David's condition worsened.

"Unfortunately, David had a stroke three days prior to our transplant date," she told CTV’s Canada AM. "He died on the day I was to give him my kidney."

David died in June 2011. On that very day, MacKinnon said she pulled the doctors aside and told them that she would still like to proceed with organ donation to a family in need.

Years later, MacKinnon came across a Facebook post detailing the Lamoureuxs' story. When she read about their ordeal, MacKinnon said she knew she wanted to help.

"I found the post on Facebook completely by accident. (It was) Desiree's plea for a kidney. I thought, 'Maybe that's what I am supposed to do,'" she said.

So MacKinnon messaged Desiree Lamoureux about the possibility of donating her kidney to Taylum, and on May 13, she and the toddler underwent transplant surgery. Both are now recovering.

Desiree Lamoureux said when she received MacKinnon's initial message, she was overcome with emotion.

"It was so poignant for me, because this is a woman who has walked the same path of having a sick child. So immediately, I felt a connection with her," she said. "Knowing that she's lived my worst fear, which is losing a child, I cried for a long time after reading her message."

She added that while several strangers had come forward offering to be tested for possible donation, she somehow knew that MacKinnon was the one donor who would make a difference.

"When it came to Michelle, I felt like my heart made the choice," she said.

Lamoureux added that she still feels at a loss for words when it comes to expressing her feelings about MacKinnon's selfless gesture.

"I've tried to formulate some (words), but I feel there is no combination to encapsulate what I feel in my heart," she said. "I love Michelle, I absolutely love her.

"I feel like we've been brought together somehow, and she's going to be forever in my life."

'Dialysis took almost everything away’

Reflecting on her decision to proceed with organ donation, MacKinnon says it was her own son's struggle with dialysis that made her want to help.

David was required to be on dialysis for about 12 hours a day, seven days a week, preventing him from fully attending school and participating in activities, MacKinnon said.

"When I saw David on dialysis, it wasn't just David taking dialysis… it was our whole family," she said.

"When you see all of those things that your teenage son has had taken away, and you know that there are so many other people who had those things taken away as well… I just wanted to do everything I could to be able to stop that."

Since David's death, the MacKinnon family has launched an annual memorial golf tournament in his honour.

The fourth annual David Gregory MacKinnon Memorial Golf Classic takes place this Saturday, June 6, in Niagara Falls, Ont.