Unfortunately, Betty was one of many people in Utah who need a liver transplant — but aren’t considered sick enough to qualify for a liver from a deceased donor.
In order to provide an alternative option for patients like Betty, Intermountain Medical Center has begun offering liver transplants from live donors. The hospital is the only facility in the region currently providing adult-to-adult live liver transplants. There are only a handful of similar programs available in the country.
When Betty’s daughter Rachel Garcia-Trujillo heard she might be able to donate a portion of her own liver to save her mother’s life, she immediately volunteered. As Betty’s only child, the two are very close. After undergoing all the necessary testing to make sure Rachel was a good candidate to donate, the surgery was performed on November 11 — Veteran’s Day — which was a meaningful coincidence, since Rachel had served in the army immediately after Sept. 11, 2001.
“They told me the surgery was risky, but I just tried not to think about the risk,” Rachel says. “She’s my mother and I wanted to help her. I just told them to hurry up and get itover with.” She admits her husband was a bit hesitant about the surgery, especially after learning that 30 percent of donors have some form of complication and there’s a one-in-200 chance of death, but he’s supported her every step of the way. And her seven-year-old daughter was excited to hear what her mom would heroically be doing to help grandma.
As part of the extremely complicated procedure, doctors at Intermountain Medical Center took about 60 percent of Rachel’s liver and implanted it into her mother. Both pieces will regenerate into fully functioning livers in time. But in the meantime, the surgery put Rachel into liver failure. She spent four days in intensive care and then another 10 days recovering in the hospital before going home in time for Thanksgiving. Now, almost two months later, she’s finally starting to regain her strength and energy, but she still tires easily. “It’s a lot of work to grow a new liver,” she says.
Betty started improving immediately after she received her new liver and has made steady progress. She says she feels better than she has in years. “My care in the hospital was great,” she says. “The team on the 10th floor was fantastic and my doctors were wonderful. Thank you for the second chance at life.”
Rachel went through a lot to save her mother, but she says she doesn’t regret anything. “I wouldn’t go through this for just anyone, but for my mom I’d definitely do it all over again,” she says.
Betty and Rachel’s case was the first adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant to be performed in Utah since 2008. The transplant team anticipates doing approximately three to five living donor liver transplants per year moving forward. Several potential donors are currently being evaluated.
Why is living organ donation better than cadaveric donation?
- Shorter waiting time for recipients: In Utah, patients must be very near death before they can receive a liver from a deceased donor. With a living donor, the surgery is scheduled as soon as the recipient and donor complete their testing.
- Shorter waiting lists for everyone else: The use of living donors reduces the number of people on the deceased donor list who may not have a living donor available to them.
- Transplant success rates are greater with living donors.