DONOR | Daryl's Story

Daryl Stevens

LIVING Liver DONOR NEEDED

I hope that my story may inspire someone to be that Samaritan that will help someone.

My name is Daryl Stevens, I am 68 years young, I hope to stay that way. I am currently married going on twenty years to a wife that's been on my side through this journey who I love very much. I have grown daughters that are successful, loving, and good people that I'm very proud of. I have two grandchildren, a boy (2), a girl (8 months), who bring me happiness and joy.
My first wife, the mother of one daughter, died of liver failure. Her health was failing and she endured long suffering. She didn't have adequate healthcare and suffered because of it. My daughter was her caregiver to the end. My daughter has hopes of me doing better because of my long standing relationship with Johns Hopkins and the quality healthcare that has been provided.

I was diagnosed with HEP C in 1990 when giving a blood donation through my union. The Red Cross contacted me and advised me to see my doctor. In 1994 I had an acute hepatitis event and I spent four days in the ICU. I had low RBC, fatigue, and jaundiced. I couldn't work for more than a month. Simple activities were difficult. I tried the ribovarin treatment and I couldn't tolerate it. Over time, I got better by staying active, and eating healthy.
In 2008 I left Kaiser and began working with doctors at Johns Hopkins. In 2012, I was treated with a combination treatment for the HEP C and was cured with no signs of the virus in my body. Since then I've had an active lifestyle. Until recently I was playing pickup basketball with the same friends for the past 15 years. I golf and I'm still working.
During a bi-annual Ultra Sound and MRI in August, two small cancer lesions were found in my liver. Because they are small and detected early, it has made me feel I can have a promising outcome. I had the TACE procedure this week. I've taken time off and I'm continuing to recover. I have a great prayer circle, committed friends and family who are helping with my recovery. I miss being active.

A transplant would give me a new lease on life and no cancer in my body. At this time it's contained in my liver and hasn't been detected elsewhere in my body. I pray to continue to have a healthy and productive life, and watch my grand kids grow and develop. I will be forever grateful for the gift of a healthy organ transplant.

Please feel free to share my story about living with liver disease. At this time a living donor would help me immensely by circumventing the spread of cancer in my body. I am asking that you might speak with others about a live liver donation for those living with liver disease.

START YOUR JOURNEY

Become Daryl Stevens's Donor

If you are considering being a living donor please use links below to contact Daryl Stevens's Transplant Center. Begin by completing the donor questionnaire

Fill Out DONOR Questionnaire
(INQUIRES ARE 100% CONFIDENTIAL)

Becoming a Liver DONOR Find a Transplant Center near you

Johns Hopkins Hospital

1800 Orleans St, Baltimore, MD, 21287

(410) 614-2989 Email Transplant Center

Did you know?

Medical expenses for living organ donors are 100% covered, and inquires from potential donors are 100% confidential! Contact the Transplant Center to learn more about living donation.

More Donor FAQs

Share the Importance of Living Donation

Liver transplantation has been a successful treatment and standard of care for end-stage liver disease since the early 1980s.

Technical advancements in liver surgery, as well as the liver's tremendous ability to regenerate, have made living donor liver transplantation a life-saving reality.

There are currently 120,000 people waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the U.S. Of these, 15,000 await liver transplants.

Although more than 6,000 liver transplants were performed last year, over 1,700 patients died while waiting on the list.

Deceased donor livers are allocated to patients based on how sick they are, determined by their MELD score, where sicker patients receive priority.

Living donation offers patients the option of transplant before they get very sick--regardless of MELD score--significantly decreasing the time they wait for a liver.

Living donation not only saves the life of the recipient; it also frees up a liver for a patient on the waiting list who does not have that option.

The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD) are numerical, objective scales that allocate available livers to the sickest patients. Patients move up the list as their scores increase.

The first living donor liver transplant took place in 1988. Since then, living donors have continued giving the gift of life and making a difference.

When a recipient has a living donor, the wait time for transplant is shorter and the transplant can be scheduled in advanced when the recipient is in good health and when it is convenient for both the donor and the recipient.

Financial burdens shouldn’t prevent the gift of life. The National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC) can offer financial support for living donor travel expenses.

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