College was not on 13-year-old Bryan Warman's mind, nor was his future career. In fact, all he wanted was a future. He wanted to live.
As a teenager, Warman became ill and was told he had hepatitis. Later, doctors changed the diagnosis to Wilson's disease, a copper-processing deficiency in the liver. Medicines failed to reverse the disease as he reached the peak of his illness, and doctors gave him 24 hours to live.
Later that day, a Louisiana boy saved his life. Warman said he received the liver of the 10-year-old accident victim during a short operation. The transplant allowed him to pursue a future, which included graduation from Ohio University in 2001.
Thirteen years after the surgery, Warman tells the story of his struggle with a tone of gratitude. I was 13 when it happened
and in your mind you're invincible he said. It showed me how short life really is and can be.
Warman works to honor other donors and recipients by creating media for Lifeline of Ohio, an organ procurement organization (OPO) that promotes organ and tissue donation.
(Warman is) just an example of what donation is all about Lifeline CEO Kent Holloway said.
More than 87,000 candidates are waiting for organ transplants, according to www.organdonor.gov, the government's official organ donation Web site.
In Ohio, 2,300 people are waiting for an organ transplant at any given time, and 214 Ohioans died waiting in 2004, said Michelle LoParo, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health.
It's a disheartening thing to know that so many people don't donate their organs when they can
Warman said.
Getting possible donors to register is one of the goals of National Donate Life Month, which is celebrated in April.
The Ohio Legislature passed a bill in 2000 requiring the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to create a list of donors accessible for OPOs 24 hours a day. In March 2005, 48.6 percent of licensed Ohioans were registered as organ donors, including 50 percent of those in Athens County, LoParo said.
Those not registered can do so when applying for or renewing a license, but OPOs emphasize that informing the family of wishes to donate is also important. Donors can also choose to specify which organs and soft tissues to donate.
Financial costs of a transplant are covered by the health insurance of the person receiving the organ, LoParo said.
Misinformation is often a deterrent to potential donors. Media stories about doctors allowing a patient to die to harvest the organs incorrectly represent what takes place, Lifeline spokeswoman Marilyn Pongonis said.
Hospital personnel calls an OPO only after a patient is declared dead, Pongonis said. The OPO evaluates the possibilities of donation and contacts the United Network for Organ Sharing, which makes the final transplant decisions based on organ size, blood type and other factors.
One donor can save up to seven or eight lives, she said.
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