SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - There are more than 100,000 people in the United States on the National Transplant List who are waiting for a kidney.

Right here in central Illinois, Memorial Medical Center completed its 1,000th kidney transplant. Many lives have been changed since the Alan G. Birch Center for Transplant Services launched in 1972. Take Cheryl and Joshua Blackburn.

"I only had one [kidney] that was working," Cheryl said. "It wasn't working really well. My health was going down pretty quickly."

The average wait for a kidney is three to five years, but Cheryl's journey was short-lived.

"Three to five years is a long time to wait when your kidneys aren't working," Cheryl said.

She only had to be on dialysis for one year before she found a donor - her son. 

"As soon as [the doctor] said a living donor would be better than a cadaver donation, he decided right away he wanted to do it," she said.

Joshua said he made the decision without hesitation.

"It was probably one of the most important things I could do with my life," he said. "Once I figured out I'd probably be approved to do it, I just decided that it was the right thing to do. It wasn't really something to debate about."

Even though his mother tried to convince him otherwise, Joshua and his mother went through all the testing and the kidney transplant was successful.

"My daughter told me just let him do it mom, because I don't know what he would do without you," Cheryl said.

Now, Cheryl said she has a new outlook on life.

"I know I have to take better care of myself, so I don't waste this gift he gave me," she said.

The Blackburns encourage other people to consider becoming a donor, whether it's for a loved one or a complete stranger.

"If anyone deserves it, it's her," Joshua said. "To be quite honest, after hearing everything that went into donating, I think I would've made the decision to donate whether it would've been to her or not."

Anyone interested in becoming a donor, can find more information on the National Organ Registry.