BY JORDAN A. EICHER

2007-07-31

Ping Li’s life was saved by death.

When Li was told that he would have to have a liver transplant or succumb to the damages of hepatitis B — a serious virus that attacks the liver, which was passed along to Li at birth — it was only because of another’s death that Li survived.

Li is now, after recovery, training for an Odessa triathlon with his son.

“I had the liver transplant in 2002,” Li said. “I recovered, and I started to do exercise, so my health has been good since then.”

Li is only one of thousands who are saved each year due to organ transplants. However, there are far more people in need of a transplant than those who donate.

Currently, there are 96,483 people waiting for an organ on the national level — 7,411 of those in Texas, Pam Silvestri, head of media relations of the South West Transplant Alliance located in Dallas said.

Silvestri said the reason organs are so hard to find is because even those registered as organ donors must die under extenuating circumstances to donate.

“In order to be an organ donor, people have to pass away in a hospital on a ventilator — it’s a very unique way and very few people die that way,” she said.

“Only about 20,000 people die that way each year, but about 5,000 of those are ruled out,” she said. “So there are always more people who need an organ that people who can donate.”

For those who want to register as a donor, though, Silvestri said the process is much easier than some would think.

“There are two things they need to know — one, people need tell their family, so they know their wishes when the time comes,” she said. “But a lot of people will ask the question, ‘what if my family doesn’t want me to be a donor?’ ”

Silvestri said those people should also get on the donor registry to make sure their wishes are carried out.

Others, though, fear becoming donors, she said.

“None of us want to think about the fact that we are going to die — so if we don’t make plans for it, we can just pretend it’s not going to happen,” she said.

“There are also some misconceptions that people have to get over,” she said.

One of the most common misconceptions people have, besides thinking they are too old, or that organ donation is religiously wrong, is that the removal of the organ will cause a mutilation of the body in the process.

“When we take an organ from a body, we do it in a sterile environment,” Silvestri said. “They only do one midline incision so there would be no scarring on the body other than that. You wouldn’t even see it in an open casket because the donor would be clothed.”

Li encourages others to register as organ donors. He said he believes people have the ability to save numerous lives if they would just take the opportunity.

His donor not only gave him a liver, but his heart and lungs were donated to other people.

“I thank my organ donor every day,” Li said. “Because of his generosity, I have good health today and enjoy many physical activities.”

DID YOU KNOW:

Pro snowboarder Chris Klug was the first organ transplantee to compete in the Olympics. He received a liver transplant in 2000. He won a bronze medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City, in what he calls ‘the race of his life.’

BY THE NUMBERS:

www.organ.org

7,411: Number of organs needed in Texas this year.

96,483: Number of organs need nationally.

15,000: Number of people nationally who qualify to donate each year.