Two Miracles: Ages and Miles Apart
Children's patient, two-year-old Michael Wilson, and University of Colorado Hospital patient Bruce Miles, 59, share a very special bond – they share a liver. Michael and Bruce's lives collided when they both became the recipients of a split-liver transplant.
By the end of 2010, Bruce was in the final stages of an incurable liver disease. He was thin, weak and struggling to communicate. A liver transplant was his only hope.
The parents of young Michael were in a similar situation. A genetic disorder was killing their son's liver, causing bleeding complications and stunting his growth. Michael's case was considered so serious he was at the top of the organ donor list.
In early 2011, Bruce and Michael's families both received phone calls telling them they had a liver. A 16-year-old boy in Kansas City had died and his family chose to donate his organs.
Transplant teams at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Hospitals in Aurora prepared to perform two transplants with one liver.
Michael Narkewicz, MD, heads up the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program at Children's. He explains how this procedure works.
"Our preferred option in Colorado is to take a larger liver and take a smaller portion of that liver and give that to the child," Narkewicz said.
Read more about this double-transplant miracle story.