Good NewsB.C. man receives award for donating half his liver to his brother
On Monday, Tom Clark received a medal from BC Transplant for donating half of his liver to his brother, Stan, in 2001. Stan had been diagnosed with liver cancer.
The brothers made history for being the first living-donor transplant pair in British Columbia. Since then, 38 similar — and similarly complex — operations have been done at Vancouver General Hospital.
BC Transplant outlines the basic facts of live donor liver transplantation:
"In a live donor liver transplant, a portion of liver is surgically removed from a live donor (approximately one half) and transplanted into a recipient, immediately after the recipient's liver has been entirely removed. Live donor liver transplantation is possible because the liver, unlike any other organ in the body, has the ability to regenerate, or grow. Both sections of the liver regenerate within a period of 4 to 8 weeks after surgery."
Dr. Eric Yoshida, head of gastroenterology of the University of British Columbia spearheaded Monday's Gift of Life ceremony honouring the 39 living donors who risked their lives to save others. He says living liver donors face the greatest medical risks and should be recognized for their heroic generosity.
Of the 39 living donations since 2001, no one has died. Still, the global risk of death in living donors is one in 250.
"And 100 per cent of donors experience pain and suffering right after the operation. So this is without doubt what we can call pure altruism. The medals are therefore a nice way to recognize their valour," Yoshida told the Vancouver Sun.
Clark, a logging company foreman, suffered a pulmonary embolism, an infection and an incisional hernia after he donated a portion of his liver to Stan.
"The risks were explained to me and there were a few hiccups after the operation, which made the recovery take a bit longer than it should have. But I'd do it again. I've got no regrets," Clark said in an interview, adding that his donation gave his brother at least 11 more years of life.
Stan remains cancer-free. He has decent liver function.
