Annamaries Ausnes had been visiting her local Starbucks for coffee and small talk with the barista for three years, but once she told her story, she got more than a coffee.

Ausnes, 55, has known about her polycystic kidney disease for nearly 20 years. The genetic disorder causes numerous cysts in the kidney and eventual kidney failure. When her health suddenly began to decline and her kidneys were functioning at only 15 percent, she knew she needed a transplant. Unfortunately, her husband and son were not matches. In addition, her chances to get a kidney were almost inexistent, until last fall, when she opened her heart in front of Sandie Anderson, the barista she casually knew through her morning caffeine runs.

Anderson, 51, did not hesitate to have a blood test to see if she matched Ausnes and she did. Therefore, on Tuesday morning, Anderson donated a kidney to Ausnes at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Surgeons said her old kidney “didn’t interfere” with the transplant and she had room for the new one to fit, according to the report.

After a successful surgery, both women recover in hospital and are expected to be fine, surgeons said.

Their family gathered at the hospital Tuesday afternoon happy the ordeal was over.

“I have felt all along something special was going to happen for my wife. She’s a special person and she ran into a special person. We’ve been married for 30 years, and this was my opportunity to be a supportive husband,” John Ausnes was quoted as saying by the Seattle Post Intelligencer.