Organ donors of all shapes and sizes needed

Cleveland – Obtaining an organ transplant can be difficult – blood and tissue types must match, and the size of the donor, recipient, and the organ is also a factor.

According to someone gets added to the port waiting list every 8 minutes Donate Life America. Most require kidneys. What you need to have lungs is limited by additional size criteria.

“It's gross. I don't give anyone any organs,” Craig Mason laughed at his previous thinking.

He said that was the way he felt before. learn He was someone in need of a transplant, both his lungs and his liver.

“I was up the basement stairs. We were talking like 12 steps. We were holding our breath halfway through. We had to stop,” Mason said. It was December 2021.

Four months later, Mason was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He started using oxygen tanks wherever he went, and was given to life for 3-5 years if he didn't undergo a double lung transplant.

“Over 100,000 people are still waiting for that list. Unfortunately, when someone receives that life-saving gift, someone has been added to that list, so it's hard to catch up with the list,” said Heather Mekesa of LifeBanc.

Additional tests showed that Masons also needed a new liver, but getting organs was not the only concern for Masons. They also had to be right. The Cleveland Clinic lists Masons, who are 4 feet 11 inches tall.

“I said, 'You can't make it five feet,” Mason said with a laugh.

“When you get to the height of the lungs, one organ in particular has to recognize the size, because a 4-foot person cannot always receive the lungs from a person who is six feet tall or taller.

Mason had to admit it towards the end of 2024 due to lack of oxygen. The clock was ticking. He said the most difficult part of his journey was waiting for a call that the organs are available.

“But that also means you're praying to allow someone else to do so in death. It was difficult,” he said.

On January 29th, I received a call three months later at the ICU. Mason had undergone surgery for more than 14 hours. He was discharged from the hospital on March 3rd and breathed himself.

“It's like being given a second lease in your life, a miracle,” Mason said, restraining her tears.

About how he feels about being a donor now:

“I finally realized: what do you know? You don't need them. Someone can live because you can't take it with you,” he said.

All over the country, 100,000 people are on the transplant waiting list. You can register to become a donor by going lifebanc.org. You can also register through your local BMV or through your national donor registry.