Are you an organ donor? A Brookfield mother of twins wants you to know why you should be

BROOKFIELD -- When you received your driver's license, did you check the organ donor box? A Brookfield mom of identical twins wants you to know why you should.

Christine Roehling

Two year old identical twins Kendall and Chloe Roehling have not always been so vivacious...

"They wouldn't be here without somebody that made the choice to donate life," said Christine Roehling.

Both girls suffer from restrictive cardiomyopathy, a rare genetic disorder, and required heart transplants.

"It is a whole lot of praying and faith," said Roehling.

The BloodCenter of Wisconsin had to find not one, but two, essentially identical donor hearts.

"There are no words to describe the mental state that you go into," said Roehling.

Kendall and Chloe Roehling

Dr. Matthew Anderson leads the BloodCenter of Wisconsin's diagnostic laboratories. He works closely with doctors at Children's Hospital and Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

"Anytime a new patient is identified that needs a heart transplant, one of the first samples that gets obtained gets sent to us," said Dr. Anderson.

Kendall and Chloe Roehling

The BloodCenter determines a recipient's compatibility with a potential donor. But Dr. Anderson says the number of patients who need transplants far outnumber the available organs.

Dr. Matthew Anderson

"Consider giving that gift of life, that's the only way that would help relieve some of that organ shortage," said Dr. Anderson.

Organ donation changed the Roehling family forever -- giving Chloe and Kendall a future, despite being born with an incurable disease.

"It's magic," said Roehling.