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Brandon Finlayson donated part of his liver to his mother, Gwen, in February. (Photo by Intermountain Healthcare)
A woman in Utah does not suffer from hepatitis after receiving a piece of her son's liver during a life-saving transplant.
"I feel like we're gaining ground every day. We are starting to hope, dream and think about the future, "Gwen Finlayson told CNN affiliate KTVX.
The mother of four, aged 63, was diagnosed in 1991 with autoimmune hepatitis, caused by the body's immune system turning against liver cells. The doctors warned that she would need a liver transplant in a few years, but she was able to extend it to more than two decades.
"I would go to the hospital and stay. I did not go over things, "she said. "There were many indications that it was heading south quickly."
Finlayson was listed on the national transplant list last year, but his chances of getting an organ seemed slim.
His son, Brandon, was a partner and volunteered to be a donor. But she did not want to put him in danger because he had five children of his own.
"She pretty much shut us down and said," No, it's not a possibility. I do not even want to talk about it, "said Brandon, 37. "It took days to convince her to finally think about this idea. Many to convince. "
The February operation was the first time Utah doctors transplanted the left lobe of a living donor's liver. They used Brandon liver scans to create a 3D printed model, allowing them to plan and practice the delicate procedure.
"Normally, we take the right lobe and take about 60% of the donor's healthy liver to give to the recipient," said Dr. Manuel Rodriguez-Davalos in a statement. "That being said, with the use of today's 3D imaging and 3D printing technologies, we can perform precision liver surgery and obtain a left lobe graft that allows for safer and faster recovery for the donor. equal or improved results for mom. "
Doctors have said that Gwen's and Brandon's livers can regenerate and should reach about 90% of their normal size within a few months.
Both are recovering well after the surgery.
"I look at the future with hope, instead of saying," How am I going to be sick then, "she said." I anticipate with joy and optimism and I'm trying to understand what we will do next. "
Gwen said she was walking five miles a day and had more energy than she had in years.
"I'm not sure I have the words to describe how I feel about my son. I am grateful that he is the kind of man who would do something like this, "she said. "That he would risk his life for another human being – did not necessarily have to be his mother – that would have been anyone – for me it's the definition of a hero." "
Brandon joked that he was probably off the hook for Mother's Day gifts for at least a few years.
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