Live organ donation rising, but need is growing: ‘It’s the greatest feeling to know I helped someone live’

When Cindy Zbin learned she couldn t donate part of her liver to her ailing husband Dave she was heartbroken Luckily he received a transplant from a deceased donor saving his life Just weeks after that she made a bold decision to donate of her liver to a stranger It s the best thing I ve ever done stated Zbin a -year-old retired nonprofit manager from San Jose I couldn t help my husband but I could help someone else Zbin s experience illustrates a growing trend in organ transplantation living donation where people give kidneys or portions of their liver while they re still alive It s a procedure that saves more lives each year but donations are not keeping pace with the need There are inevitably more people waiting than there are available organs explained Danielle John director of organ operations for Donor Structure West which connects donors to patients in California Our job is to maximize every single opportunity to save a life Since more than people in the U S have donated organs of them as living donors according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of facts from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation System In alone more than people in the U S became donors Living donations increased from about in to more than in Since more than Californians have become organ donors in California of them while living including nearly in the Bay Area Dr Mark Melcher chief of abdominal transplant surgery at Stanford Medical Care reported he s seen the Bay Area evolve into one of the country s majority of competitive and capable transplant regions over nearly two decades but also one where the wait can be grueling Traditionally the waiting list in the Bay Area has been significantly longer than in much of the country he revealed California has long wait times for both kidney and liver transplants Zbin s husband had liver disorder and had been on the liver transplant waitlist for more than three years After a series of surgeries his liver began to fail At one point while sailing in Mexico in he collapsed from a serious infection and had to be airlifted to UC San Francisco Therapeutic Center We thought he wouldn t make it Zbin recalled They communicated us he had to be transplanted by December December came and went but still no liver Cindy Zbin and her husband Dave Zbin underwent liver donation and transplant surgeries at UC San Francisco Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Cindy Zbin and her husband Dave Zbin underwent liver donation and transplant surgeries at UC San Francisco Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Cindy Zbin center with two UCSF Health Center nurses after she donated of her liver to a stranger on Thursday March Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Cindy Zbin and her husband Dave Zbin underwent liver donation and transplant surgeries at UC San Francisco Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Cindy Zbin and her husband Dave Zbin are recovering well after the surgeries They are now back to snowboarding boating and traveling Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Show Caption of Cindy Zbin and her husband Dave Zbin underwent liver donation and transplant surgeries at UC San Francisco Photo courtesy Cindy Zbin Expand Then in February they got the call A liver from a -year-old donor who had died had become available It saved his life she noted We ve been married years We have three kids and seven grandkids We got our life back Three weeks later Zbin made her own decision She donated of her liver to an anonymous recipient I had been through it Zbin disclosed I had sat in that hospital I had watched other families I just knew I had to do it There was no pressure It was personal Physically my liver has grown back I feel great But emotionally I feel different better It changed me It s the greatest feeling to know I helped someone live John the organ donor facilitator who spent years helping build the living donor operation at California Pacific Biological Center revealed stories like Zbin s are becoming more common but still not common enough Living donors are specific of the bulk selfless people I ve ever met she reported Whether they know the recipient or not they re stepping forward to give life Programs like paired exchanges and donation chains allow incompatible donors to help each other across a arrangement Say you want to donate to me but we re not a match John stated We can still help each other through a swap Or if you re an altruistic donor you can kick off a chain that saves multiple lives Countless people don t know they can be living donors Others are swayed by myths or fear John announced schooling and locality engagement are critical especially in a diverse region like the Bay Area It s essential for people to see others who look like them receiving transplants John explained It makes it real It gives them hope Kristin Holtzman who coordinates operating room setup victim safety and company encouragement at Donor Arrangement West in Oakdale California committed to becoming a living donor herself When I started at Donor Architecture West I learned about the path of living organ donation she explained A sparse years later my cousin donated a kidney to my uncle that was my first personal connection to a living donor Watching the change it made for my uncle planted the seed for me She went through the National Kidney Registry and chose UCSF for her donation due to its large living donor effort and waitlist After six months of evaluations she was approved and scheduled for surgery as a non-directed donor I later determined out my left kidney now lives in Hawaii Holtzman revealed It lucked out Holtzman could list five people who could be prioritized for her kidney through the registry s voucher effort It s a way to help someone now while also protecting someone close to you in the future she announced Her recovery was smooth I was in the hospital for two days she stated I was uncomfortable for about three days but it was manageable with medication I started running again three weeks after surgery I honestly feel like I was meant to have one kidney she stated Everything returned to normal so fast I ve benefited as much as I hope my recipient has It s enriched my life in methods I couldn t have imagined The highest numbers on the waiting list are for kidneys mostly due to damage from diabetes and high blood pressure and livers often tied to fatty liver condition or alcohol use Melcher revealed Liver patients face a more urgent need The difference with liver is that there s no dialysis alternative he reported People can die waiting Nearly Californians are waiting for organ transplants largest part of them over need a kidney according to the transplant system s input Others wait for livers hearts lungs or multiple organ transplants More than have been on the list for five years or longer In the Bay Area more than people are waiting for organ transplants Zbin now back to snowboarding boating and traveling with her husband hopes others will consider live organ donation If you re thinking about it at least get tested she mentioned You don t have to be young or athletic I m a small older woman She also urges people to register as deceased donors That one conversation can save lives she revealed It saved my husband s