Dad bursts into tears after realising the person who donated him a kidney was his daughter

A dad has been overwhelmed with emotion after discovering who donated a kidney to him.

Trying to secure a donated organ can be a lengthy and difficult experience.

John Ivanowski knows that all too well after he was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, which is a type of kidney disease.

He was required to have dialysis for four to five hours for four days a week.

His daughter Delayne was devastated to see her dad's quality of life diminish as a result of the disease.

Even though he told his only daughter that he didn't want her to donate her kidney to help him, the 25-year-old said she couldn't sit back and do nothing while he waited for someone to give over their organ.

She told ABC News: "He likes to walk my dog and run with my dog and he wants to do all this stuff, but now he's hooked up to a machine.

"I don't think that's any way that anybody should have to live."

John was scared that his daughter might suffer from adverse health issues later in life if she is only surviving on one kidney.

He had already lost his son when the boy was 16 as a result of neuroblastoma, and he didn't want to put Delayne in any difficulty.

But, the nurse at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis decided to give one of her kidneys anyway.

She added: "I was like, 'I'm going to do it. I don't care how mad he is at me. I don't care if he kicks me out of the house or hates me or doesn't say a word to me for the rest of my life'.

"At least he'll be living a good life and not hooked up to a machine."

Delayne's selfless act took a lot of effort to remain a secret.

She had to be involved in loads of calls with medical professionals as the plan progressed as well as blood work and tests.

John said he had absolutely no idea Delayne was involved in the donation when he was wheeled in for the procedure.

He told ABC News: "They called me at work and said, 'We've got an anonymous donor,' and I about dropped the phone and thought are you kidding me?

"People can be on the [kidney waiting] list for five, six, seven, eight years and go through dialysis for that long, and I just couldn't believe it."

The hospital made sure John and Delayne remained separate for as long as possible to keep the donation 'anonymous'.

She made the big revelation after he had undergone the surgery.

Sitting in his hospital gown, John watched Delayne walk in in the same gown wheeling an IV drip.

It then dawned on him that his young daughter had given him the biggest gift ever.

"I knew right away," he said. "I was upset. I was just in shock. I looked at my wife and was like, 'Are you kidding me?'"

While he was initially angry, he says he wouldn't change a thing.

Thankfully, John and Delayne's doctor says the 25-year-old will 'have no higher risk for the rest of their life of renal failure or any other medical issues'.

Delayne is raising money to help pay for the surgery and you can donate here.