Chevon Williams is a 43-year-old wife and mother with “a very active, 4-year-old daughter.’
She holds a master’s degree from the University of Dayton and a bachelor’s degree from WilberForce University a historical Black College (HBCU) and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
She serves as a child protection investigator, focusing on allegations of child abuse and neglect.
“I have serviced many communities and protected children for over 20-years,” Williams said.
She is also one of more than 11,000 people in the United States are waiting for a new liver, according to the Department of Human Services Office of Minority Health. Livers are the second most-needed organ after kidneys, and about 900 African Americans are on the wait list.
“For the past few years, I have been living with a chronic liver disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) that has progressed over the last several months and the only cure is a liver transplant,” Williams explains.
“My doctors believe my condition is a genetic/inherited disorder because I don’t drink alcohol, smoke, or take un-prescribed medications. Because of my liver condition, my quality of life has decreased significantly.”
Of those awaiting liver transplants, nearly 2,500 of them die every year waiting on a liver transplant.
“My doctors and I are worried this could happen to me,” she said.
“Normally, someone who needs a liver would be placed on the national liver transplant waitlist and wait for a deceased donor.”
Williams said the criteria which is used to determine how sick you are and how likely you will receive a liver does not work well for PSC patients.
“While I wait on a liver, my condition worsens but my chances of moving higher on the wait list decreases. My best option is to receive a transplant from a living donor.”
To help resolve the organ donor shortage and save lives, living donor liver transplantation was developed. The procedure allows a healthy adult to donate a portion of their liver to the patient in need.
Unlike most organs, the liver has the remarkable ability to regenerate. The donor’s remaining liver grows to its original size within weeks. Only a small portion of the donor’s liver, not the entire liver is donated.
Prospective donors must be under 50-years old. Each potential donor will be evaluated individually.
“Receiving a match as soon as possible is of the utmost importance before I become too sick to receive a transplant,”
Williams said the procedure would take place in Philadelphia at the Penn Medicine facility, “which has a high success rate with this type of surgery.”
There is a special protocol in place to meet the needs of distance liver donors and minimize their time away from home. It’s important to note that it will be necessary to stay local to Philadelphia approximately three to four weeks after discharge from the hospital to ensure that recovery is proceeding as expected.
To accommodate patients, the Penn Transplant Institute offers lodging at the Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House, a guest house for transplant patients and their families and caregivers.
“Your donation will allow me to be here for my husband and daughter. I will be able to help my daughter choose her prom dress, attend her graduation, and be there as the mother of the bride,” Williams said.
For more information about liver donation, visit www.penntransplant.donorscreen.org/Register/Now The “Become a Living Donor” button links to the health screening questionnaire. The Living Donor Transplant line is (215) 349-8220.
