The gift of organ donation is infinite, affecting more than just the recipient, says double lung transplant recipient
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Life can change in an instant. You could be in your garage, working on a buddy’s brakes, when the call comes that will save your life. This call, which will bring relief and joy to your family, is coming because somewhere else, another family is experiencing the worst day of their life.
You have less than 24 hours to get to Vancouver for a liver transplant.
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“My wife and I caught the last ferry out of Nanaimo to Vancouver, slept a few hours in a hotel, arrived at Vancouver General at 9 a.m.,” said Kevin Tucker of Courtenay B.C.
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The 50-year-old father of two was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease a few years ago, and seemed on track to recover until a routine followup ultrasound found a mass on the liver that turned out to be inoperable cancer.
“Tell me where I need to be,” said Tucker the moment he got the call.
Without the liver transplant last August, he would have died.
Tucker is profoundly grateful: “Now I’ll be able to be around for my kids, my wife, my family.”
Tucker was the recipient of one of the record-breaking 563 organ transplants performed in B.C. in 2023, according to B.C. Transplant, a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority that works with the province’s three transplant centres. They included 112 liver transplants, 353 kidney transplants, 22 heart transplants, eight combined kidney/pancreas transplants, and 77 lung transplants.
Ryan Burke, a 27-year-old lung recipient from Lions Bay, is still absorbing the profound impacts of the transplant that saved his life last April.
Burke was an active carpenter who loved to hike, paddle board and ski when suddenly, at age 25, he began to experience severe shortness of breath. In 2021, he was diagnosed with late-stage idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare progressive disease of unknown origin.
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He had a surgery, started on medication, including an intravenous treatment he carried around in a vest pocket. Walking, especially in the beloved hilly forests of Lions Bay, became extremely difficult, and the prognosis was that he would live no more than a couple of years.
“Death was imminent,” said Burke.
His only hope was a double-lung transplant.
He hesitated at first.
“I wasn’t sure it would be successful,” said Burke. “But it was the only option.”
He credits the transplant team at VGH for counselling him through the process.
“I trusted them, they were professional and optimistic, informative. They said I was a good candidate. I knew they knew what was best for me,” said Burke. “I gave them my faith.”
About four months after joining the waiting list, he got the call.
“I thought, ‘Here we go,’ ” said Burke.
He wouldn’t ever know the donor — in Canada, donor families maintain anonymity — but he knew that somewhere, a family was grieving.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Burke.
What he wants the donor’s family to know is that their loved one’s selfless gift didn’t just save one life.
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“They saved my whole family who saw me suffering. The reach of this is infinite,” said Burke.
Less than six months after the transplant, he was able to hike up the Stawamus Chief, go paddle boarding, and most recently, take a ski trip with 16 of his closest friends.
He has his life back.
Michael Brown, a 36-year-old who died in a surfing accident in Tofino, was one of 160 deceased donors who helped save lives in B.C. last year.
“Michael always tried to live life to the fullest,” said his wife Jaclyn Ko in a statement. “One of his most enduring traits was his unwavering commitment to care for those in need. Now, through organ donation, his legacy of compassion lives on.”
“Living donors who choose to undergo surgery to save a life, and deceased donors and their families who make such a courageous decision amidst their profound loss are truly inspiring, along with all the health-care professionals who support organ donation and transplantation across the province,” said B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix in a statement.
Eric Lun, executive director of B.C. Transplant, said donors should think carefully about their decision, and register their wishes on the B.C. Transplant website.
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B.C. is one of the top jurisdictions for organ donation and transplants in Canada, with nearly one in 30 British Columbians registered as an organ donor.
dryan@postmedia.com
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