DONOR | Michael's Story

Michael Sparacio

LIVING Liver DONOR NEEDED

Your generosity is a beacon of hope. Make a donation, make a difference. Thank you for your contribution and I could not be more grateful.

I am Michael Sparacio who is an active person who grew up well. Reading, music, sports, movies and collecting artifacts and memorabilia are things I do enjoy. Playing the piano is something I also take pleasure in. I have had diabetes since 2004, liver cancers since October 2018, and blood loss since June 2024.

Due to the blood loss of late, this has impacted my life greatly since I cannot move or lift items due to stress. So moving around today has been difficult. I cannot do my regular routine of working in radiology, playing tennis, or moving items around the house like an air conditioner. As a result, I try to do other things like taking a long walk.

Not only do I need a transplant but this will literally save my life. I wish to live another 20 years and use my retirement. I don't want anything stopping me. Much of my family wishes this because I am a vibrant part of life. I do many things such as getting a group to go to a Yankee game, taking a friend to see a Broadway show or living a satisfied life in my lovely home.

I hope and pray people listen to my story. I am an optimistic person with a debilitating disease. ANYONE wishing to contribute a liver, rather, a portion of your liver, I would be eternally appreciative. I do know people are afraid of an operation which I do understand but send this thought to anyone you know. Spreading the word means the world to me. Somebody, somewhere, may understand and wish to help. I would be grateful and proud of this person. Keep thinking, keep praying and keep telling people. Tomorrow is another day.

START YOUR JOURNEY

Become Michael Sparacio's Donor

If you are considering being a living donor please use links below to contact Michael Sparacio'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

Yale New Haven Transplantation Center

333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520

(866) 925-3897 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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