Carol and Michelle

Carol and Michelle are cousins who share a unique bond, one that most family members rarely experience: they both received life-saving liver transplants thanks to the generosity of organ donors. Carol, a mother of five, was diagnosed with Primary Liver Cancer nearly 20 years ago and after extensive treatment, learned she was a candidate for a liver transplant. With only two weeks to live and at 100 pounds, on November 1st, 1990 Carol was the tenth liver transplant at University of Kansas Medical Center. Because of the kindness of a stranger, she is alive and well and cancer-free. She is grateful to the physicians who treated her, and to the donor who had the generosity to donate life. Michelle was shocked when after donating blood, the local blood bank called to deliver bad news: the results of her blood work showed abnormal liver function. For years, doctors were uncertain what was wrong but eventually diagnosed Michelle with Primary Sclerosing Colangitis, an autoimmune disease. After years of treatment, she was informed in 1998 that she would need a liver transplant to survive. “I was initially told that I’d wait twelve months for a liver, but instead had to wait four long years,” said Michelle. “My hope is that others will hear my story and become an organ donor, so others don’t have to wait. If the last thing you do on this earth is change the world for the better and actually save someone's life, what a way to go out!” After twelve years, Carol was able to meet the “wonderful, special people” who made her liver transplant possible. Both Carol and Michelle continue to speak publicly about the value of organ donations and will be forever connected with this special bond.