Before DeKalb resident Quinnlin Roberts was even born, doctors knew there was something wrong with her kidneys. On Oct. 1, 2001, at two days old, she was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease, a rare genetic disease that leads to kidney failure.

“The doctor told us she would need a kidney transplant to survive,” said Quinn’s mother, Julia Roberts. “My sister, who is a nurse, starting crying when they said Polycystic Kidney Disease, so I knew it was bad.”

Quinn, now 8 years old, was prescribed a series of 13 medications to battle the symptoms of PKD, which include high blood pressure, fatigue and itchiness, while doctors monitored her liver function and search for a donor match.

In addition, her case is not the family’s only encounter with the disease.

Quinn’s brother, Gage, now 10 years old, began showing symptoms of PKD in the summer of 2005 at age 6.

By September of 2006 Gage’s kidneys were only functioning at 10 percent.

During the 2008 Christmas season, Quinn wrote a letter to Santa Claus asking for a new kidney. Little did she know that a donor was already in the waiting.

Julia and her husband, Julian, reached out to family and friends through a family blog, kidneysandeyes.com, searching for potential donors.

“There was a rush of people to get evaluated,” Julia said. Both she and her husband were not suitable matches to replace their children’s kidneys.

Of the four friends who came forward, two were found to be perfect matches for Quinn and Gage.

The two donors, Jody Sawls and Cheryl Thomas, met the family through attending North Decatur United Methodist Church.

The Roberts family has attended the church for 10 years.

“It was so shocking,” Julia said. “Everything just fell into place.”

Ms. Sawls donated one of her kidneys to Gage in 2007.

This year on Sept. 29, Quinn’s birthday, Ms. Thomas donated one of her kidneys to Quinn.

“I didn’t itch anymore,” Quinn said about how she felt after the surgery that took place at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.

After five weeks of recovery, Quinn was back at Briarlake Elementary as active and energetic as a typical 8-year-old.

“Everybody hugged me when I came back,” she said of returning to her second-grade class. “Even the boys.”

The Roberts do not keep their battle against PKD at home.

Julia contacted the PKD Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers support to PKD patients and their families, for help.

Finding no Atlanta chapter of the group she took it upon herself to form one.

Last month the group organized a benefit walk. The event, held at Turner Field in downtown Atlanta on Nov. 15, raised about $62,000.