One day in 1970, Stephanie McMackin turned yellow and began itching. That was the first day of her 20-year battle with liver disease. In January, 1990, Stephanie's health had deteriorated to the point that she was put on the transplant waiting list. Twelve weeks later, Stephanie received a liver transplant, and for the first time, her teenage children saw her healthy. Stephanie has been doing her best to "pay it forward" by serving as a Donate Life Ambassador volunteer with OneLegacy for many years. "Every Mother's Day, I think of my donor's mother missing her child," said Stephanie. "I am taking very good care of their daughter and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for blessing me with their most unselfish gift of life."

Stephanie's Story

One day in 1970, as a young bride on a waterskiing trip, Stephanie McMackin turned yellow and began itching 24/7. That was the first day of her 20-year battle with liver disease, which was ultimately determined to be congenital.

Stephanie's jaundice was so severe that her skin and eyes were yellowish-green; she had oozing sores all over her arms and legs. Stephanie itched so badly, not even sleep would make it stop. She developed debilitating ulcerative colitis and was in and out of the hospital many times with pancreatitis. Three operations at UCLA left Stephanie with external tubes in her abdomen requiring daily irrigation. These operations were done in an attempt to keep her alive until organ transplants were considered a viable treatment option.

By January, 1990, Stephanie's health had deteriorated to the point that she was put on the transplant waiting list. Twelve weeks later, on May 8 (near Mother's Day), she received "the call" that changed her life and the lives of her family forever: Stephanie's transplant coordinator told her that surgery was at midnight!

After a frantic ride to UCLA and hours of prepping for surgery, Stephanie remembers saying goodbye to her loved ones just before she was wheeled into the operating room. She prayed that she would survive the surgery and then marveled after waking up eight hours later, realizing not only that she had survived, but she was pink, not yellow! And she didn't itch! This was the first time ever that her children, ages 15 and 17, saw her healthy, with white eyes and pink skin.

All Stephanie was told about her donor was that she was a 15-year-old girl who was killed in a car accident in New Mexico. (Stephanie has since found out her name was Mary.) "I could identify with my donor's mother because I had a 15-year-old at the time, and my heart ached when I considered the tremendous grief my donor family must have been experiencing. I knew at that moment that not only were they giving me the gift of life but also the gift of their child's life. I have done my best for the last 21 years to live a healthy life as a tribute to my donor family. I hope one day to have the privilege of meeting them."

Since that day, Stephanie has been blessed to celebrate 42 years of marriage, see her husband retire, watch her children graduate from high school and college, get married, and to be a part of the lives of her five grandchildren. Stephanie has had the privilege to participate in five U.S. Transplant Games where she and her family celebrated the gift of life with other organ transplant recipients and donor families. Stephanie has been doing her best to "pay it forward" by serving as a Donate Life Ambassador volunteer with OneLegacy for many years.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of my donor family and how much I owe them. Every Mother's Day, I think of my donor's mother missing her child. I don't know her, or the rest of the family, but if I did, I would tell them that I am taking very good care of their daughter and that I thank them from the bottom of my heart for blessing me with their most unselfish gift of life."