Lavender McKillip
Type of Donation: liver recipient
Age and Location: Age 17 – Oakland, CA
Donation Date: 2022
Sponsor: Honored by Donor Network West with UCSF
LAVENDER’S STORY
When she was seven years old, Lavender McKillip stopped growing. For the next seven years, no matter what she did, she remained at a constant height and weight of 4'9" and 75lbs. This was the first sign of her battle against liver disease. She was pale, had lesions on her knuckles, and was growing weaker by the year. Diagnosis took years. She had her blood drawn twice a week for months, had monthly endoscopies to monitor a sometimes-fatal complication of liver failure, esophageal varices, and finally got on the wait list in 2020.
An incredible care team at UCSF changed her life, and a year and a half later, she got the transplant she so desperately needed. She got the call while making dinner: She got a donor, and her life-saving procedure would happen now!
After an eight-hour surgery and three days in the ICU, Lavender woke up and felt no worse for wear! "The surgeons did a great job. One of them showed me a picture of my old liver, and looking at it, it is a miracle I made it as long as I did. I am just thankful we caught it before it completely failed on me.
I do not know my donor family, and I cannot imagine the pain they felt losing a child, but I hope that wherever they are, they feel a little bit better knowing that their loss was not for nothing. Thanks to them, I've gotten another chance at life."
Graduating from high school next June, Lavender plans to make the most of her new life by becoming a librarian. She hopes that helping spread information to people will make the world a better place for everyone. "While I'm still in high school, I can't do much physically to thank my donor family, but once I graduate and start working in a library, I'll do everything I can to show everyone the value of donation. It's the least I can do - they saved my life, it's only fair that I show people how to save others."