Life Is Good for Liver Recipient

On November 24, Boyd Manuel celebrates two anniversaries - his wedding anniversary and his transplant anniversary. When Boyd and his then fiancé Renee were deciding on a wedding date, it seemed appropriate to start their marriage 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 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.

After several tests, 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 explains.

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 to work two jobs. Like so many other people awaiting organs, Boyd remained on the list for several years.

In November 2002, while out with friends, 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 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."

"It was the best day of my life," Boyd says about his transplant. Though he has had a few setbacks, Boyd now feels good,continues to work  and is now a father to young daughter,Lydia.  For all this, he's thankful to his donor. "It's one of the most selfless things people can do," says Boyd.

You have the power to save lives by becoming a registered organ and tissue donor right now or by saying "yes" when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.