"We can barely find one person who has been on dialysis for 30 years, but this is unheard of," said Robin Oswalt, social worker at DaVita Dialysis. "It's a miracle, and we are hoping for another 15 or 20 more years. We are like a family here."

Annie and Earl Samuels went on dialysis in the early 1980s. Annie Samuels, 62, needed the treatment for high blood pressure. Earl, 55, needed the treatment for diabetes, which caused kidney failure. But it wasn't unusual in their family, Annie Samuels said. Of their 23 siblings, a total of five went on dialysis. They have a niece who is also on dialysis and a nephew who was on dialysis but died. Of their 23 siblings, there are only seven living, Earl Samuels said.

"They told me I'd be dead in three years when I first started this," Annie Samuels said. "But I'm still here."

Annie and Earl Samuels go to DaVita three times a week for 31?2-hour treatments. Their blood is taken out of their bodies and waste and excess water is removed, then the blood is put back in during each treatment.

The treatment serves as an artificial kidney replacement for patients who have renal failure. The most common reasons people go into renal failure is high blood pressure and diabetes, or a combination of the two, said Dr. James Askew, a retired physician who originally put Annie Samuels on dialysis 30 years ago.

"The mortality for (dialysis patients) is probably 12 percent a year, so if you do the math, having someone live 30 years on dialysis is extremely rare," Askew said.

But there are things that patients can do to improve their odds, Askew said, including staying on a strict diet, taking their medications and not missing any dialysis treatments, Askew said.

To celebrate Annie and Earl Samuels' milestone, DaVita Dialysis hosted a reception in their honor Wednesday, attended by family, friends and DaVita staff.

Mary Smith, a nurse who has been working with Annie and Earl Samuels for the last 16 years, said the pair have become like family.

"She says I'm her daughter," Smith chuckled.

But Smith said that the pair also serve as an inspiration to the other dialysis patients, especially those who are new to dialysis.

"It's encouraging for the other patients," Smith said. "I use their story to show other patients there is a life after they start dialysis."

The pair have also been an inspiration to their family members, including Barbara Samuels, a niece by marriage.

"I've been on dialysis for 14 years, but I'm hoping to make it to 30 years like they have," Samuels said.

Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at 205-722-0222 or lydia.seabol This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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