Eighty Four woman becomes rare two-time living organ donor
Courtesy of CORE
Alysha McConnell and Bruce Bandel pose together at Allegheny General Hospital无毛视频檚 Donor Pinning ceremony on Feb. 14, 2019.
Courtesy of CORE
Bruce Bandel, Alysha McConnell and Bandel无毛视频檚 wife, Vicky, with the cake McConnell presented Bandel the day she completed testing and was approved to be his kidney donor. The cake says, 无毛视频淯rine for a treat!无毛视频�
Courtesy of CORE
Alysha McConnell无毛视频檚 daughter, Mia, left, and McConnell lie in a hospital bed the morning after McConnell无毛视频檚 kidney surgery. McConnell donated a kidney to Bruce Bandel.
In November 2018, while recovering from surgery to donate a kidney that saved the life of longtime family friend Bruce Bandel, Alysha McConnell read an article about a two-time organ donor.
The man, a New Jersey resident and married father of nine, had donated a kidney and a portion of his liver to strangers in need.
At that moment, McConnell made a decision: She would donate a lobe of her liver to anyone who needed it.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 know you could (be an organ donor) more than one time. I was under the impression you could only do one or the other. I was compelled to do it,无毛视频� said McConnell.
Two years later, McConnell无毛视频檚 doctors at UPMC Presbyterian hospital cleared her to begin the process of becoming a living donor for a liver transplant.
She underwent a battery of tests, including a complete medical and psychological evaluation, and in January 2021, she was approved as a living donor.
Two months later, on March 4, McConnell received a phone call from UPMC asking if she was still willing to donate.
She said yes, and on March 11, she underwent successful liver donor surgery.
McConnell, 30, of Eighty Four, is in rare company. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are approximately 100 people in the United States who have donated more than one organ, to two different people, in the past 30 years.
无毛视频淭wo-time living donors are extremely rare. What she did is incredibly impactful,无毛视频� said Sara McMahan, digital brand coordinator at CORE (Center for Organ Recovery and Education). 无毛视频淭here are more than 100,000 people in the United States and more than 7,000 Pennsylvanians currently awaiting a transplant. They are our friends, family and neighbors who need that lifeline.无毛视频�
During the surgery, doctors removed 67% of McConnell无毛视频檚 liver for a Pittsburgh man in his 50s.
McConnell has long been interested in helping to save people无毛视频檚 lives.
In 1997, her brother, Sean Scott Jr., 28, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 3, and he often received blood transfusions during his treatment.
无毛视频淲e grew up with a great appreciation for blood donors because he received so many of them. We were showered with the love of strangers who saved my brother无毛视频檚 life,无毛视频� said McConnell, who was 5 years old when her brother was diagnosed.
McConnell marvels at the resiliency of the human body, and the ability of the liver to regenerate.
Typically, within three months of surgery, the liver will have regrown 90 to 95% of its original size.
She was out of the hospital and back home in five days. Within two to three weeks, she was nearly back to normal.
McConnell is happy to share her story, to raise awareness of organ donation, to educate people, and to let them know they can save lives.
无毛视频淓verybody has something to give, whether it无毛视频檚 advocating, educating or donating. They无毛视频檙e all instrumental parts of saving lives in our community,无毛视频� said McConnell.
One person can save the lives of eight by donating organs and heal the lives of 75 through tissue donation. Anyone can sign up to be a donor, regardless of age or medical history, according to CORE.
Every 10 minutes, another person is added to the national transplant waiting list. Every day, 17 people across the country 无毛视频� children and adults 无毛视频� die waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
McConnell无毛视频檚 6-year-old daughter, Amelia Rae, has grown up with an awareness of the difference organ donation makes.
Amelia Rae accompanied her mother to doctor无毛视频檚 appointments when McConnell donated her kidney to Bandel 无毛视频� something she wasn无毛视频檛 able to do when McConnell donated her liver due to COVID-19 restrictions 无毛视频� and is now 无毛视频渕y little organ donation champion,无毛视频� McConnell said.
无毛视频淚t goes to show you how important it is to educate people and to raise that next generation of people who can save others,无毛视频� she said.
Bandel and the recipient of McConnell无毛视频檚 liver lobe are both doing well.
Bandel recently celebrated his 73rd birthday 无毛视频� something that wouldn无毛视频檛 have happened if McConnell hadn无毛视频檛 made the decision to donate her kidney.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 had four more birthdays since then, and I无毛视频檓 grateful for that,无毛视频� said McConnell.