Cleveland – Government data shows 13 people wait for an organ transplant every day and die, with someone being added to the transplant list every eight minutes.
Because more donors are always needed, some organs can come from living donors. Nathan Howe is one of less than 300 double organ live donors.
“I was in a position because I was healthy enough,” Howe said. “I handle surgery. Well, I have a support system.”
In 2020, he donated his kidneys to his father. In 2024, he donated a portion of his liver to 11-year-old Ahmad Rai. Rai's mom, Aya Akkad, said it would make him a hero.
“If anyone wants to make this decision,” Akkad said. “It's like that — he's such a hero, or she's such a hero.”
Approximately 103,000 people in the United States are awaiting organ transplants, according to health resource and service management data. Dr. Hashimoto Elementary School is the director of live donor live transplants at Cleveland Clinic. He has been a transplant physician for over 20 years and has performed over 1,000 liver transplants. He said the deceased donors were not enough.
“Sacrificing healthy organ parts can save patients with organ failure.
In 2024, Cleveland Clinic transplanted more than 1,300 organs, including the heart, intestine, kidneys, liver, lungs and pancreas. The main Ohio campus has 851 organs, with Cleveland Clinic Weston, Florida, transplanted 265 organs and 241 organs transplanted with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. The kidneys and liver are the most common organs donated by living people. The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself.
“The evaluation usually takes 1-2 days. Therefore, during this evaluation, do you need a blood test, EKG, heart, cold scan, or MRI? Make sure you have normal liver function and good renal function. All important organ functions are normal.
Howe is from Jefferson, Ohio. In addition to donating two organs, Hau gives blood. The two organs are the maximum number that a living donor can donate. Hau had laparoscopic surgery to remove part of the liver. This type of surgery reduces scarring and reduces recovery time.
“Life is all endowed and accepted. I am in care. And I receive a lot from people,” Howe said. “So if we can give something to other people's lives in a positive way, we're grateful for the connection and the opportunity.”
In 2016, 11-year-old Rai received his first live donor live liver transplant. Howe anonymously donated Rai's second liver. They eventually met in person.
“I'm oh, I was scared and happy, so I'm trying to get a new liver, so I can go home because I like it,” Lai said.
Almost a year after the transplant, Rye lives like a normal, active child who loves soccer, and his mother says it's a miracle.
“It's a miracle. It can change your life,” Akkad said. “I'm grateful that you are such a hero and that it's not enough words for them. We're grateful like their donations and it really changed our lives.”
Some qualifications to become a living donor are overall physical and mental health, at least 18 years old and have a blood type compatible with the recipient. To become a living donor, contact the Cleveland Clinic Living Donor Team.
