Senators’ owner could get liver transplant by end of week

TORONTO — With more than 2,000 people expressing an interest in giving part of their liver, and 500 actual applications submitted, a doctor for Eugene Melnyk says the Ottawa Senators owner could undergo surgery by the end of this week.

Dr. Atul Humar, director of the multi organ transplant program at Toronto General Hospital, said there has been a “huge response” to Melnyk’s urgent public appeal for a liver transplant.

The Senators announced on Saturday that more than 12 candidates have been identified and selected to go through the donor screening process. The candidates are all at different stages of that process.

Melnyk, 55, who has been battling health issues for months, was admitted to hospital three weeks ago due to the onset of liver-related complications. His condition is considered critical.

Melnyk had been reluctant to make a public appeal, but loved ones convinced him to reach out for a potential donor after members of his family were found not to be suitable.

A living donor transplant is Melnyk’s best option because he has rare type AB blood; a live donor doesn’t need to have a matching blood type, whereas an organ from a deceased donor must be a perfect match.

Humar said doctors hoped the transplant would take place toward the end of the week.

Dr. Gary Levy, director of the living donor liver transplant program at Toronto’s University Health Network, said on Friday the transplant team hoped to have a donor match for Melnyk within 72 to 96 hours.

Potential donors, who go through a lengthy battery of physical and psychological testing, are told they could face a major surgery that removes 70 to 75 per cent of their liver for transplant.

Their own liver will regenerate in eight to 10 weeks.