Meredith Burns' world was turned upside down when her father suddenly turned yellow.
The shocking change in his appearance led to a devastating diagnosis: end-stage liver disease.
Meredith quickly went to Google to find a solution. A quick online search led her to the Centre for Living Organ Donation within UHN's Ajmera Transplant Centre — one of the top transplant centres in the world.
Established in 2018, the Centre for Living Organ Donation works to improve access to liver or kidney transplants, caring for both the patients in need of a life-saving organ, and for the living organ donor.
The day after her online search, Meredith began gathering the necessary paperwork and underwent a series of blood tests to assess her eligibility to be an organ donor. To her amazement, she discovered she was a universal donor.
This realization filled Meredith with hope and determination. Knowing she had the potential to save her father's life, she submitted her application with the subject line "keen donor" and the waiting process began.
Her father, 70 at the time, needed to undergo a battery of tests, leading to an anxious waiting period for the entire family. It was made worse when he experienced hepatic encephalopathy, a condition whereby a failing liver impacts brain function, which caused him to fall unconscious for about a week.
Soon after he awoke, Meredith's father was placed on the transplant wait list.
At that point, Meredith had extensive testing including psychological and social evaluations to determine her eligibility to donate. Just two weeks later, she received a call offering a surgery date.
It was then, Meredith offered her gift to her father, encouraging him to join her for surgery, which took place two years ago last week – Aug. 15, 2022.
'It's empowering to offer up a gift like this'
Her father's transformation after surgery was astounding. He went from frequent naps and being unable to stand up by himself, to zipping around the Intensive Care Unit — all thanks to the team at UHN and his daughter's liver donation.
What surprised Meredith the most was discovering the gift she had within her. Her experience taught her profound lessons about the brevity of life and her own resilience.
"Now challenging situations feel a lot more manageable," Meredith says. "I have a good sense of what matters, and what a real problem looks like."
Now, she is focused on supporting the people and the process that saved her father's life.
Meredith is helping to raise awareness of the impact of living organ donation. She also joined the UHN Impact Collective, a group of next-gen philanthropic leaders, to help fundraise for UHN.
"It's empowering to offer up a gift like this and see what your body is capable of," Meredith says of the experience of donating a portion of her liver to her father.
To mark the second anniversary of their surgery, Meredith and her family are participated in the Constantine Yorkville Run as part of Team Transplant, with all funds raised going back to UHN's Centre for Living Organ Donation.
Her father, now a testament to the life-saving power of organ donation, planned to walk the five-kilometre route, while Meredith chose to run it.
"I feel lucky to have been able to give my dad this gift," she says. "And, I want to help others learn more about the groundbreaking advancements in organ transplantation."
