A fact about organ donation in the United States is that more than 100,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and while 95% of Americans claim to support organ donation, only 58% are signed up as a donor.
James Neal is one of the 58% who signed up to be a donor, and has actually given an organ to a recipient in need . . . not once, but TWICE!
The first time was a kidney donation in 2016, and now he’s given part of his liver to a total stranger whom he met for the first time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The recipient, Margaret Boden, had been suffering from severe liver disease and was on the transplant waiting list, but doctors told her she would likely not live to see her daughter’s spring wedding.
Margaret’s daughter got tested to see if she was a match for her mom, but she wasn’t.
James was inspired to become a donor for the second time while attending a donor-recipient brunch and felt like if he could help another person, he should.
Shortly after, James got the call that he had a match . . . Margaret Boden.
The transplant, a complex procedure of two simultaneous surgeries by two full teams, happened in March, and was a success.
James spent three months recovering from the procedure before he was able to get back to work, but doesn’t regret the decision to donate again, saying, “It was like, someone told me ‘one person cannot change the world. But on person can change the wold of one person.”
The two-time donor isn’t sure if he’ll donate again, saying, “I cannot grow another kidney [and] my liver could only be divided in half once.”
Thanks to James, Margaret was able to watch her daughter walk down the aisle last month. She shares, “I feel like [James] is [on my shoulder] all the time. If it wasn’t for my guard — I was calling him my guardian angel — I wouldn’t be here.”
(MSN)