For medical miracles to happen, awareness of the importance of organ donation is needed

• People need to know that liver disease can be cured and that the possibility of a transplant is always there. The liver is the only vital organ in the human body able to regenerate 100%, which allows doctors to transplant just a large enough piece.

July 2022.- Although the risk of a split liver transplant is higher than that of a whole liver from deceased donors, in the face of organ shortages the Cleveland Clinic team has developed procedures that minimise the complications of splitting a liver to transplant it into two adults.

One success story is that of María Contreras and Mónica Davis, who recently marked two years since receiving a liver from a deceased patient, of which each received a portion.

Cristiano Quintini, director of liver transplantation at Cleveland Clinic, explained that nearly a hundred professionals took part in the complex and difficult technique, led by nine surgeons who performed the transplants in July 2020.

Now the “split liver sisters”, as they call themselves, have recovered and their quality of life is excellent, says the doctor.

Testimony

The nightmare of María Contreras, a mother of four and grandmother of two, began in 2014 when itching in her hands forced her to see a doctor. After several tests, doctors diagnosed a problem with her immune system that was destroying her liver.

“My eyes turned yellow, very yellow. I was embarrassed and wore glasses so people wouldn’t see,” she recalls.

The 53-year-old mother and grandmother says she waited years for a miracle. “They told me I could wait up to a decade or more.”

Likewise, Mónica Davis’s liver problems began in 2014. The diagnosis for the mother of three and grandmother of four was discouraging. The 59-year-old admits she thought “there was nothing more to be done. I’m going to die.”

The two also wanted to join forces to make an appeal to the community. “For these medical miracles to keep happening, we all need to be aware of the importance of donation, especially among Hispanics,” stressed Contreras.

“People should know that liver disease can be cured, that the possibility of a transplant is always there, and that transplants are accessible to everyone, regardless of race or age,” explained Spanish surgeon Teresa Diago Uso, part of the Cleveland Clinic transplant team.

Facts

The liver is the only vital organ in the human body able to regenerate 100%, which allows doctors to transplant just a piece large enough for the organ to finish renewing itself. Medicine has taken advantage of this characteristic, which has also made it possible for people to donate part of this organ while alive.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 17 people die every day in the country waiting for a transplant, and every 9 minutes another person is added to transplant waiting lists.

In the Dominican Republic, the National Institute for Transplant Coordination (Incort) reports that an average of 3,000 people die each year waiting for organ donations. Between 1972 and 2020, 6,864 transplants were performed, 50 of them liver transplants.

 

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About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical centre that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based on the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States.

Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 72,500 employees worldwide are more than 5,050 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,800 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties.

 

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