New Liver, New Life
BY MICHAEL ULRICH ’10
3 MIN. READ
Did you know that in the United States alone, around 17 people per day die because they’re waiting for a liver transplant?
Simon Ho ’86 and his daughter, Cassie, know it personally.
In 1997, Cassie was born with a congenital liver disorder called Biliary Atresia, which has no known cure. The Kasai procedure, a treatment for Biliary Atresia that creates new ducts for the liver to drain bile into the intestine, gave Cassie 13 years before it was clear that she would need a new liver altogether, which would need to come from a donor.
Cassie’s father, Simon, decided to be that donor.
There are two types of transplants that allow people in need of a replacement liver to have the necessary procedure. The first type, called a cadaver transplantation, is when a liver is taken from a deceased and usually unrelated donor. Every year in the United States, around 6,000 cadaver transplantations take place.
The second type of liver transplantation, which Simon provided for Cassie, is called a living transplantation. Because of the liver’s power to regenerate, a person can donate part of their liver to another person. The segments of the liver — both in the donor and in the recipient — grow back as full-sized, functioning organs. Only 250 people per year receive a living transplantation in the U.S.
And the number of people who need one? Currently, there are more than 118,000 people on the waitlist, just in the U.S.
After learning about its regenerative nature, Simon didn’t think twice about giving part of his own liver to save his daughter’s life.
The liver is the only organ in humans, as far as scientists and doctors know, that regenerates. According to Simon, “This allows any healthy person the potential to save others who are in need of a new liver.” It’s a fact that not many people know, and Simon may never have known either, if it weren’t for Cassie’s liver disorder.
After Cassie’s successful liver transplant, the two decided to start a nonprofit organization, called My New Liver.
“The core mission of My New Liver is to promote the awareness of the awesome, regenerative power of the human liver so more healthy people know that they actually have the power to save the life of another person in need of a new liver,” says Simon. “Besides promoting awareness, My New Liver would like to be able to help others going through the living liver transplant journey — both living donors and recipients,” he adds, noting that the help given and people reached can and will grow through sponsors and fundraising efforts.
“The experience for me as a dad to know that I could do my part to give Cassie a second chance in life is beyond words and satisfaction,” says Simon.
And while it has been challenging, Cassie is “grateful that she has the opportunity to live a full life after the living transplant.”
Through the mission of My New Liver, Simon and Cassie hope to save lives by helping others get that second chance, too.
Listen to Simon share the full story through the Anderson University ECHOES podcast, and visit My New Liver online to support the nonprofit’s mission, and to learn more.