When 65-year-old Lee found out that a family member needed a liver transplant, he knew he needed to do something to help. “They didn’t ask me to become their donor—I offered,” Lee says. In this Q&A, Lee shares more about his experience becoming a living liver donor.
Marissa Kauffman and Eliana “Elie” Tibbs, both suffering from liver failure, were given a second chance at life with the help of two very selfless individuals, through what doctors are saying was the first paired exchange liver transplant ever performed in Utah.
Sometimes, the people who save your life come from the most unexpected places. For Sonya Bradley, it was her daughter’s best friend, who donated part of her liver at Vanderbilt University Medical Center one year ago to replace Bradley’s failing one.
Keith Tully knew he would need a liver transplant one day. When nobody in Keith’s family ended up being a match for him, his longtime buddy Scott Dickinson decided to become his living donor.
When 42-year-old Steven Register was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and told he needed a liver transplant, his wife turned to Facebook to find a donor. The post reached someone he hadn’t spoken to in 20 years—Kristin Johnston, a former high-school classmate who volunteered to donate.
Giving always came naturally for Miami University’s Anna Ressler, but a decision she made last year to help a faculty member who needed a liver transplant began a journey that changed multiple lives and initiated a first-time cooperative effort between two major hospitals.
Ask anyone who knows Ahmad Rai, and they’ll mention his contagious smile and optimistic attitude. Looking at him now, you wouldn’t know the 11 year old has gone through multiple major surgeries, including a recent life-saving liver transplant.
