ESSAY: Why I decided to be a living organ donor by Eric Ulrich

[Clark]

https://www.qchron.com/editions/south/why-i-decided-to-be-a-living-organ-donor/article_49110adc-0e83-5eb7-9656-40d953fa1fcb.html

ESSAY
Why I decided to be a living organ donor

• by Eric Ulrich

A few days ago, I walked into Northwell Hospital and prepared myself for surgery to donate a little more than half of my liver to an old friend from Ozone Park. Antonio Blandino has nonalcoholic cirrhosis and, like so many others with this disease, needed a healthy organ donor to live. After months of testing and screening dozens of other would-be donor candidates, it was determined that I was the perfect match.
This is a major surgery, with real risks, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit concerned. This decision came from a simple truth that feels impossible to ignore: If I can help save a life, how could I not try?
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