Life Is Good for Liver Recipient On November 24, Boyd Manuel celebrates two anniversaries—his wedding anniversary and transplant anniversary. When Boyd and his fiancée Renee were deciding on a wedding date, it seemed appropriate to start their married life on the same date he was given a second shot at life. "I got married in 2006 on the fourth anniversary of my liver transplant," says Boyd. Ten years before, Boyd was a typical 20-year-old. He worked at Cleveland Hopkins Airport fueling jets and hung out with friends at night and on weekends. "At the end of 1995, a guy at work said my eyes looked yellow," he recalls. "But I didn't think anything of it." The following summer, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach while at work. "It wasn't a typical stomach ache, so I ate something," says Boyd. But the burning continued, so he went to the emergency room. After several inclusive tests, doctors there sent him to a gastroenterologist for an endoscope. Boyd was diagnosed with primary sclerosis cholangitis, an autoimmune disease that interrupts the flow of bile and causes inflammation of the liver. "Being 20 years old at the time, I said, 'Whatever,'" he recalls.

But Boyd couldn't remain nonchalant about his diagnosis for long. "Between that summer and the summer of 1997, I kept getting more jaundiced and itchy, and I wasn't digesting food properly," he says. In August, Boyd received a biliary stent—small tubes in his bile ducts to help keep them open. But his condition didn't improve. "That's when the doctors mentioned a liver transplant," says Boyd. "I broke down because it was completely unknown what would happen to me." In May 1998, he was placed on the organ transplant waiting list. Even with his condition, Boyd continued working two jobs—his fulltime one at the airport and a part-time job at Pizza Hut. Like so many other people awaiting organs, Boyd remained on the list for several years. Nearly 260 people in northeast Ohio are currently waiting for a liver, according to LifeBanc, the area's organ procurement and tissue recovery agency. In November 2002, while eating with friends at Denny's, Boyd learned that a liver was available. "I got a page from the Cleveland Clinic. I wondered, 'Is this really it?'" he remembers. "I called the Clinic back and was told, 'We've got a liver for you. Be here in an hour.' I went back to the table with my friends, and I was speechless." While driving home to pack a bag for the hospital, Boyd was nervous and began crying uncontrollably. "All of a sudden, it was like God put his hands on me," he says. "I was completely, totally calm." He remained that way while being prepped for surgery, through the procedure and during recovery. "It was the best day of my life," Boyd says about his transplant. Though he has had a few setbacks, Boyd now feels good. He works for Sherwin-Williams and takes classes at night. In August, his wife gave birth to their daughter Lydia. For this, he's thankful to his donor. "It's one of the most selfless things people can do," says Boyd. Currently, nearly 100,000 men, women and children in the United States and thousands in Ohio are waiting for a life-saving transplant. You can become a registered organ donor right now or by saying “yes” when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.