Become a living organ donor and save a local life

Needing a living liver donor A local woman has taken to social media to appeal for a living liver donor. With more on her challenges, here’s CTV London’s Reta Ismail.

Erin Fredin needs a liver transplant and is now appealing to the public. By sharing her story, she hopes to find a living donor.

A decade ago, Erin was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) – a progressive disease that damages the liver and bile ducts.

PSC does not have a cure, and the best option is to receive a liver transplant.

“I did have a sudden advancement in my disease at the end of June. Which now I'm listed on the organ transplant list as a result," said Erin.

According to Dr. Anton Skaro, the surgical director of Liver Transplantation at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), the waitlist for an organ transplant is long.

"There are many patients that die every day without a liver. And so clearly, we're not meeting our demands in terms of supply and the demand for livers. And unfortunately, we lose people," said Dr. Skaro.

Erin is hoping her social media post will help her find a matching donor and help others who might consider becoming an organ donor.

"It is such an incredible gift to give to somebody, And, you know, asking someone to be a donor is, just like, it's almost unfathomable to me," she said.

Dr. Skaro said living donors are heroic but unfortunately not everyone can qualify, "There's much that goes into it from a medical standpoint, from a psychosocial standpoint, from an anatomical standpoint, those don't work well."

A new technique being used in London may lead to more organs being available for transplant.

"We connect them (organs) to a portable heart lung machine that restores oxygenated blood just to the abdominal organs, and over two hours of perfusing those organs and improving the oxygenation, we can repair the damage that's done, rendering many of these organs that were previously discarded more than suitable, very high quality," said Dr. Skaro.

You can learn more about organ donation, or see if you qualify to become a living liver donor for Erin, by following this link.

"You're giving part of your organ to save someone else's life, and that can really, change everything for them," said Erin.