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Rutland Herald
Dear Editor Section
Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the article in the Rutland Herald, dated November 24, 1999, written by Patricia Noonan. I too am in need of a liver transplant, and I also go to the Lahey Clinic, in Burlington, Mass. My husband and I are in the midst of testing the possibility of a living donor liver transplant...a gift of life from my husband.
I have PBC, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, a chronic liver disease that slowly destroys the bile ducts. Liver inflammation, caused by this disease over a period of years, may cause scarring of the liver, which leads to cirrhosis. PBC in NOT alcohol or drug-related and it is NOT contagious. PBC is also called Chronic Nonsupportive Destructive Cholangitis and Primary Autoimmune Cholangitis. The immune system can normally distinguish "self" from "non-self" but in an autoimmune disease the body attacks its own healthy organs or tissue as if they were foreign. All told there are over 100 liver diseases having different causes, some known and others, such as mine, unknown.
The American Liver Foundation is a national voluntary health organization dedicated to preventing, testing, and curing liver and gallbladder diseases through research and education. The ALF address is: 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 603, N.Y., N.Y. 10038, or call 1-800-465-4837.
Every 16 minutes a new name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing). Are YOU an organ and tissue donor? Please remind family, friends, and co-workers to be an organ and tissue donor. Remember, it is not enough to sign a donor card or the back of your license...your family or your legal next-of-kin will be the ones asked to sign consent at the time of your death.
For more information go to www.organdonor.gov. If you have a computer and have a liver disease there are different support groups available. As I have PBC I belong to the PBCers- to join, e-mail PBCers@aol.com. The PBCers homepage is: http://members.aol.com/pbcers/pbcers.htm. If you have a different liver disease go the American Liver Association website: http://sadieo.ucsf.edu/ALF/alffinal/homepagealf.html.
