Give some thought to becoming a transplant donor during COVID
There are “angels” in our community, as described by the spouse of a local man who received a liver transplant this month. My friend Donna, also in need of this vital organ, has not been so lucky.
For the last three years, friends and family members have been working hard to find living donors willing and able to donate part of their liver so that these people can have a new life.
Diagnosed with bile duct cancer several years ago, my friend faced serious life-threatening surgery to defeat the disease. And while it was successful, her liver, which normally rejuvenates, did not return to its normal function. Since then, she has lived with loss of energy, jaundice, physical changes that prevent her from sleeping and eating properly and a host of endless tests while she awaits a coveted liver transplant.
As her advocate and as a person who also advocated for the local man who did receive a transplant recently, I am appealing to our communities, once again, to consider this incredible sacrifice. For the past two years, we have partnered with Trillium Gift of Life and held community information sessions. Volunteers who have been both donors and recipients have given their time to fully explain the process.
Only about 20 to 30 per cent of all those willing to be a donor will be deemed to be a good match. Age (must be under 60), health, blood type etc. are just some of the factors in the careful scrutiny that a potential donor must undergo. The donor is given top priority in terms of risk, no donor in Canada has ever died and most return to normal life within two to three months as their liver regenerates.
For Donna, life is never normal despite having a good fitness regimen and healthy eating. She is currently on the waiting list for a transplant; a waiting list that never seems to move in her favour. Never being able to make plans, limited social life and depressing hospital visits leave her mentally debilitated. While the rest of us pontificate on the woes of the pandemic, just imagine what this is like for someone who is severely compromised.
Why you might ask, would I seek help at a time like this? I can appreciate that this might not be an ideal time for those working from home with children to care for, but I am hoping that perhaps there is just one person for whom this is the “right” time. Isolated and at home, this could be an opportunity to step up and really help someone else. The pandemic has been difficult, to say the least, but it has given many of us time to reflect on life and our own personal legacy.
While COVID has been devastating, our preoccupation with it has shifted the focus from many of the other needs in our society. Living donation provides a lasting and positive outcome. Please give this some thought. It could mean the gift of life to your spouse, your sibling, or your friend.