Eighty Four woman becomes rare two-time living organ donor
Courtesy of CORE
Alysha McConnell and Bruce Bandel pose together at Allegheny General Hospital’s Donor Pinning ceremony on Feb. 14, 2019.
Courtesy of CORE
Bruce Bandel, Alysha McConnell and Bandel’s wife, Vicky, with the cake McConnell presented Bandel the day she completed testing and was approved to be his kidney donor. The cake says, “Urine for a treat!”
Courtesy of CORE
Alysha McConnell’s daughter, Mia, left, and McConnell lie in a hospital bed the morning after McConnell’s kidney surgery. McConnell donated a kidney to Bruce Bandel.
In November 2018, while recovering from surgery to donate a kidney that saved the life of longtime family friend Bruce Bandel, Alysha McConnell read an article about a two-time organ donor.
The man, a New Jersey resident and married father of nine, had donated a kidney and a portion of his liver to strangers in need.
At that moment, McConnell made a decision: She would donate a lobe of her liver to anyone who needed it.
“I didn’t know you could (be an organ donor) more than one time. I was under the impression you could only do one or the other. I was compelled to do it,” said McConnell.
Two years later, McConnell’s doctors at UPMC Presbyterian hospital cleared her to begin the process of becoming a living donor for a liver transplant.
She underwent a battery of tests, including a complete medical and psychological evaluation, and in January 2021, she was approved as a living donor.
Two months later, on March 4, McConnell received a phone call from UPMC asking if she was still willing to donate.
She said yes, and on March 11, she underwent successful liver donor surgery.
McConnell, 30, of Eighty Four, is in rare company. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are approximately 100 people in the United States who have donated more than one organ, to two different people, in the past 30 years.
“Two-time living donors are extremely rare. What she did is incredibly impactful,” said Sara McMahan, digital brand coordinator at CORE (Center for Organ Recovery and Education). “There are more than 100,000 people in the United States and more than 7,000 Pennsylvanians currently awaiting a transplant. They are our friends, family and neighbors who need that lifeline.”
During the surgery, doctors removed 67% of McConnell’s liver for a Pittsburgh man in his 50s.
McConnell has long been interested in helping to save people’s lives.
In 1997, her brother, Sean Scott Jr., 28, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 3, and he often received blood transfusions during his treatment.
“We grew up with a great appreciation for blood donors because he received so many of them. We were showered with the love of strangers who saved my brother’s life,” said McConnell, who was 5 years old when her brother was diagnosed.
McConnell marvels at the resiliency of the human body, and the ability of the liver to regenerate.
Typically, within three months of surgery, the liver will have regrown 90 to 95% of its original size.
She was out of the hospital and back home in five days. Within two to three weeks, she was nearly back to normal.
McConnell is happy to share her story, to raise awareness of organ donation, to educate people, and to let them know they can save lives.
“Everybody has something to give, whether it’s advocating, educating or donating. They’re all instrumental parts of saving lives in our community,” said McConnell.
One person can save the lives of eight by donating organs and heal the lives of 75 through tissue donation. Anyone can sign up to be a donor, regardless of age or medical history, according to CORE.
Every 10 minutes, another person is added to the national transplant waiting list. Every day, 17 people across the country – children and adults – die waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
McConnell’s 6-year-old daughter, Amelia Rae, has grown up with an awareness of the difference organ donation makes.
Amelia Rae accompanied her mother to doctor’s appointments when McConnell donated her kidney to Bandel – something she wasn’t able to do when McConnell donated her liver due to COVID-19 restrictions – and is now “my little organ donation champion,” McConnell said.
“It goes to show you how important it is to educate people and to raise that next generation of people who can save others,” she said.
Bandel and the recipient of McConnell’s liver lobe are both doing well.
Bandel recently celebrated his 73rd birthday – something that wouldn’t have happened if McConnell hadn’t made the decision to donate her kidney.
“He’s had four more birthdays since then, and I’m grateful for that,” said McConnell.