Doctors diagnosed Marie Robinson, 61, with cirrhosis of the liver around three years ago. She is currently one of 18,000 people on an organ transplant waiting list, Fox affiliate KMPH.com reported.
Worried that she won’t get a donor in time, her husband Verlon Robinson, 55, has offered up his 2004 Dodge pickup truck, a tent trailer and one of his “good kidneys” to anyone who could help his sick wife.
“We have been married for 25 years and it breaks my heart when I think about losing her,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “I would do anything to trade places with her but as you know that’s impossible. So please if you are O positive or negative blood type and would consider giving her some of your liver we have insurance that would cover all surgeries. Ps. I have good kidneys and I would throw in one,” he said.
After University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, which is treating Marie, alerted Verlon that he couldn’t offer material goods in exchange for an organ, he updated his status to clarify that he had “taken my truck and trailer off the market […] however they did say I could still offer my kidney. So kidney is still out there.”
The couple often makes the three-hour-long trip from their home in Sanger, California, to San Francisco so Marie can attend appointments.
“There are so many people out there that are sick, and need help, and I am just one of them. I just have a wonderful husband who is willing to give it all,” Marie told KMPH.
Liver cirrhosis occurs when the organ becomes damaged, attempts to repair itself and scar tissue forms, making it unable to function properly. Symptoms of the condition include fatigue, bleeding and bruising easily, itchy skin, jaundice, confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech. But these are generally not noticeable until the organ is very damaged.
Verlon told KMPH.com that Marie is becoming more confused as time passes, and forgets who or where she is more often.
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center accepts organ donation applications on its website. As the liver is uniquely able to regenerate itself, a piece of the organ can safely be donated. Within eight weeks, the donor’s liver is generally back to its normal size.
As well as matching the recipient’s blood type, donors must meet certain criteria including being between the ages of 18 and 55, of a healthy weight, with no major illnesses. They also can’t smoke for six week prior to the surgery.
