Despite B.C. having the highest organ donor rate in the country, there is a long waiting list for organs to become available for transplant in the province.
Shelby Gielen knows it well.
She has undergone two liver transplants: one at the age of 14 and another at 27.
Now, she is facing a third transplant at 39.
It was only last month that she competed in the Transplant Olympics, winning two gold and two silver medals in swimming.
But she knew something wasn’t right. Gielen was exhausted. A liver biopsy and numerous tests revealed why.
Gielen is once again in liver failure due to a rare form of rejection that is rapidly destroying her liver function.
Her friend Corine Carey set up a FundRazr site with hopes of raising $20,000 to help with expenses not covered by the health care system.
And so the wait begins.
Gielen is not alone. Many others are enduring the often long and nerve-racking wait for a donor organ to become available.
“We have a waiting list of 600 in province in all organ groups and unfortunately, we have about 20 people a year who die waiting for an organ,” said Edward Ferre, the provincial operations director of the B.C. Transplant Society.
Gielen’s greatest wish is that her story might encourage more British Columbians to register with the BC Transplant Society.
“It takes two minutes to register,” Gielen said. “Get your cellphone and care card and register your wishes… Have a conversation with your family.”
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