
During her first year of pharmacy school, Rachel learned she needed a liver transplant. Rachel shared her search for a living donor on social media. Her college friend Matt decided to go through the living donor evaluation process.
Our patient stories profile those who have had liver transplants at UPMC. Although everyone’s care experience is unique, we hope that sharing these stories will help prospective patients and their families better understand these procedures and their potential impact on patients’ lives.
Note: These patients' treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.
Joey first found out he had liver damage in 1993 when blood tests showed his liver wasn’t working right. But, in 2021, Joey suddenly lost almost 50 pounds, and his health worsened. Joey’s UPMC Center for Liver Care team recommended a liver transplant and advised that a living donor was a good option. After hearing the news, Joey's son, B.J. went through the donor evaluation process.
A living-donor liver transplant exchange starts when a person signs up to become a living donor without having a specific individual in mind for their donation. Instead, they donate a portion of their liver to someone on the waiting list who has an incompatible living donor. After taking part in a living-donor liver transplant exchange, a father and his son are now bonded for life with two strangers.
Arthur was added to the liver transplant waiting list after being diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). He received care close to home at the Liver Transplant Evaluation Clinic at UPMC Williamsport before undergoing a liver transplant in Pittsburgh. “I’m so lucky to have received the liver, and to that individual and their family, I am eternally grateful for the new lease on life I’ve been gifted.
Alan was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in 2008 and was able to manage the disease on his own until 2020, when his disease progressed and his liver began to lose function. Alan's wife, Amanda, was a perfect match and was willing to be his living-liver donor. They traveled from North Carolina to the UPMC Liver Transplant Program in Pittsburgh for the transplant.
After Eric was diagnosed with primary sclerosis cholangitis (PSC) – a chronic and progressive liver disease – one of his close friends, Isaiah, registered to be his living donor without hesitation. "When I first heard the news, I texted Eric and told him, ‘If you want a piece of my liver, you got it.'"
In 2020, Rick was rushed to the hospital for an eye related injury. During his visit, he was given the surprising news that he had cirrhosis of the liver. When he was told he would need a liver transplant, his sister, Ida, stepped in to be his living donor. Learn more about Rick and Ida's experience at UPMC in Central Pa.
Family can be one of the most important components in life. In this case, sometimes family isn’t always your only option when it comes to help. By taking part in a living-donor liver transplant exchange, a total of four individuals were able to be a part of one life-changing moment that they will all cherish for the rest of their lives.
Marathon runner Donald King was sipping coffee in his car before his morning training run when he heard a radio commercial about organ donation and becoming a living donor. The father of three whose premature son spent 102 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), instantly knew what he had to do. “I’ve seen how fragile life is. I felt called,” he says.
Joe St. Clair didn’t know he had liver disease until his wife found him unconscious in bed and rushed to the hospital. He found out he would need a liver transplant if he wanted to survive. Four people offered to donate and were turned away. But then his cousin, Barbara, offered to donate from all the way in Virginia.
For three years, George MacDonald fought cirrhosis, an illness in which healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue, leading to fatigue, weight loss, easy bruising, and discoloration in the skin and eyes. His daughter, Diana, saw he was getting sicker. As a nurse working at UPMC Passavant, she had some sense of what he was going through, and she wanted to help. But she wasn’t sure how."
When Michael Pitterich learned that he needed a liver transplant, he very quickly started looking for a live donor. A friend volunteered to get tested and found she was a perfect match. Since his transplant, Michael is doing well and will always remember the gift of life his donor gave him.