Live donors not an option for some waiting for liver transplants

Ginger Delgado KDVR Denver
10:11 PM MDT, August 17, 2010

GOLDEN, Colo. - There are currently 524 people in Colorado waiting for a deceased liver donor. With the average wait time about three to five years, many of them will die waiting. Some have the option of a live donor liver transplant but won't take the risk.

One of those women is Pamela Meadows, 57, of Golden. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver disease. Only 15% of her liver is still functioning. She's been on the waiting list in Colorado for three years for a deceased liver donor, but for her, a live liver donor is simply not an option.

Meadows reached out to us here at Fox 31, shortly after we aired a story about Chad and Ryan Arnold, two brothers who underwent a live donor liver transplant in which Ryan died shortly after the procedure. Meadows told us, "My heart goes out to Chad more than ever now because not only does he have the physical recovery to face but he has the emotional struggle now."

While the Arnold's story touched her heart, Meadows says a live liver transplant is not for her, "I think it would be an extremely difficult thing for me. It's just not an option. Do I want to die anytime soon? No. Do any of us? But I'm OK with whatever the plan is."

A bloated stomach and swollen feet were just a few of her symptoms when doctors told her she had Hepatitis C. Today, Meadows is weak but better and still waiting patiently for a deceased liver donor. She told FOX31, "It has been a huge hurdle for me to think about the fact that someone has to die in order for me to live. And while I know they're not technically dying for me to live, it still feels that way." Despite the emotional struggle though, and her very serious condition, Meadows is still in good spirits. She says, "I have yet to get depressed about it. I have yet to feel like woe is me."

She is now focusing on her family and living for the present with no fears about whether she gets a new liver or not. She says, "If I could possibly live a number of years more in the kind of condition I'm in now, I would be happy with that. I'm at peace with it. I really am."

For more information on how you can become an organ donor, visit wwww.donatelifecolorado.org.

Copyright © 2010, KDVR-TV

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