Editor’s Note: Friday was World Hepatitis Day, which seeks to raise awareness of a deadly disease suffered by over 350 million people worldwide. The writer shared his letter to explain the importance of registering as an organ donor. Since this letter was sent, he has exchanged more letters with his donor’s family and met with them.
To the Donor Family:
We’ve not met so this letter from a total stranger may surprise you. I’m writing as a recent liver transplant recipient from last October.
I was given very little information about my donor except what was jotted down unemotionally on a doctor’s note in my medical file. She was a 48-year-old female, an extremely brief description that just can’t capture the essence of her life. I’m sure she was much more than this.
Many years ago she decided to offer a gift, perhaps several, should the unthinkable ever occur. She was unique, yet shared some common experiences with us all.
Brought into the world a helpless baby, she was a twinkle in her parent’s eye, their spark of joy brought out to explore a new world. She grew to become a beautiful child with all the thoughts and future dreams young girls imagine with their school age friends.
Later perhaps, she was herself a wife, mother or sister, cousin or aunt, or maybe simply someone’s best friend, able to show a kindness of heart and love no other person could fill. We each have our own paths and purposes in this world and more often than not, can only guess at what they are or where they lead.
A little about me: I was dropped off as an unwanted baby at an orphanage in Hong Kong decades ago, listed as an abandoned child. My birth parents couldn’t/wouldn’t care for me for a litany of possible reasons.
It was most likely my birth mother who passed on her Hepatitis B virus to me invitro which I carried my entire life. Fortunately, I was shortly adopted by a nurturing family and brought over to the United States.
As a child I did live in Napa Valley for some time before moving to Oklahoma and eventually entering the U.S. Naval Academy and becoming a Navy pilot. My Hepatitis B antigens were discovered while I was in the Navy.
For my entire early life, career and subsequent retirement, my Hepatitis was kept at bay by my normal immune system until last October. I’ve always been a reflective thinker, but this event gave me one more pause to consider the fortune of my life’s circumstances and all those who’ve positively affected it. I often don’t take enough time to do this and thank her and others who have given me so much.
Since the transplant I’ve told all my family and friends that I don’t take this gift of life lightly. My donor early on had a heart of gold and made the choice to offer a part of her deepest self to possibly save others. To me this is both gracious and immensely humbling.
As my wife has also listed herself an organ donor for decades, I know that although this decision doesn’t normally take center stage in one’s life, it does offer a glimpse into their soul and does showcase one of the brightest parts of what makes each one of them so special. We would all cherish being a part of their lives.
I wanted to keep this short. I know the rules allow me to express myself to the family though I can’t contact you directly or offer any more detail about myself. It’s your choice from here if you decide to respond. I’ve been told sometimes the families immediately contact the recipients or in other cases it could take years, sometimes never.
Of course, for you reading this I realize many emotions still abound and as words can never adequately describe, my deepest comfort and kindest thoughts are always for your continued strength as you heal. As for me, I’ll always do my best to honor her life and to keep her positive spirit alive within me.
Most Sincerely,
Rusty
Rusty Chang is a resident of San Diego and liver transplant patient advocate with the Liver Coalition of San Diego.
Read More: Opinion: A Survivor of Deadly Hepatitis B Writes to the Family of His Liver