Help Matt recover from his liver donation

Hello, my name is Matt and I'm raising funds to cover expenses related to my anonymous living liver donation.

According to Bing, examples of ‘new-year’s resolutions’ are: drink less coffee, create a bathroom cleaning schedule or attend a professional conference event. I resolved to do none of those things. Instead, I promised to save a life. And so, inspired by a documentary on transplant waitlists, I called the best transplant hospital in Canada and told them I had a liver to share.

After many rounds of testing, and meetings with surgeons, psychologists, social workers and nurses, my liver has been approved for transplantation and matched with a child—a child who’ll be operated on in the room next to me but I’ll never get to meet. I don’t know their age, gender or even their medical condition.

The 8-hour surgery is scheduled for summer 2023. I’ll be kept on an intensive monitoring unit for at least 5 days, after which I’ll stay in a hotel near the hospital for another week (just in case) before flying home. Post-op recovery time is typically 8-12 weeks.

It won't be easy. Donating a liver is a major surgery. Mortality rates are extremely low but minor complications are common. I know it's going to hurt but the pain will be a small price to pay for giving a child a second chance at life.

Part of my expenses will be covered by the Program for Reimbursing Expenses of Living Organ Donors (PRELOD). This includes travel to and from Toronto, accommodation, a portion of meal costs, medication and a partial loss of income subsidy. (For details see: brochure ) The PRELOD program is fantastic and I’m very grateful for the financial aid it provides, however, it does not fully cover all expenses, such as additional loss of income, the cost of nutrient-rich foods to regrow my liver, or extra childcare costs.

Unfortunately I won't be eligible for Employment Insurance. We expect roughly $4500 of lost employment income.

None of this would be possible without the amazing skills of all the nurses, doctors, coordinators, psychiatrists and social workers involved. They’ll be doing all the hard work while I’ll be sound asleep. I’m budgeting $250 for flowers and thank-you gifts for the medical professionals involved.

Childcare costs. My son, Pippin, will be staying with his grandparents while Tabi visits me in Toronto for a few days. We’re budgeting $100 for ice cream and fun for him.

The economy class ticket home will be covered by PRELOD, however, I’m not looking forward to folding my 6’3'' frame plus two 10’’ incisions into an economy seat. Therefore I’m planning to pay the $500 upgrade to first-class.

A large part of your gift will go to meal delivery services like Skip the Dishes or DoorDash. Past experiences have taught us there’s nothing more helpful than getting a healthy meal home-delivered while recovering from a hospital stay. I’ll need to regrow half a liver in a matter of weeks so healthy, frequent meals are key. Conservatively I’m budgeting $40 a day for 6 weeks for a total of $1680.

Altogether that amounts to $7,030 dollars. ($7,220 including GoFundMe and banking fees.) Anything over $7,2200 will be a blessing.

Thank you all very much for your support. It means a lot to me that you're willing to help give half my liver away. You can follow along with my story on Instagram and Facebook. I'll try to personally respond to as many questions and comments as I can.

----

Want to save a life too? Click here to learn more about the living donor program. Start by filling out the living donor health history form or send me a DM.

Approximately 4,100 Canadians await a lifesaving organ transplant. Each year hundreds die waiting. Some people get lucky and spend no more than a few months on the waiting list. Many, however, are forced to wait a very long time; time they often don’t have.

Anonymous organ donations are extremely rare, but they don’t have to be. There used to be a time when organ donation was limited to blood-relatives. This is no longer the case. You can be a living donor too and hundreds of Canadians can be matched to your gift. Each potential donor is thoroughly assessed and receives all the care they need both physically as well as mentally before and after surgery.