Calling for help: El Paso family in desperate need of liver transplant for loved one
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso family is in desperate need of the Borderland’s help.
The Lopez family has been trying to find a living donor that will match Irene Augustain-Lopez’s blood type (O Positive), who’s in dire need of a liver transplant. Suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, she has become progressively worse, and her daughters say she’s been ill enough to qualify for a liver transplant, but not sick enough to be on the deceased donor’s list, limiting them to search for a living donor.
Our KTSM crew joined the Lopez family for a rosary held to pray for Augustain-Lopez on Sunday, April 21, at Our Lady of the Valley Church in the Lower Valley.
Augustain-Lopez’s daughters explained that she was hospitalized twice this past week, and can no longer fend for herself.
“It’s just not allowed her to live a normal life anymore. And this last hospitalization was the worst that I’ve seen, that my sister has seen because she was unresponsive. None of the paramedics, the nurse, no one could wake her up. It was scary,” said Melissa Maldonado, one of the daughters.
They said they’re going to speak with their liver transplant team to see if Augustain-Lopez now qualifies to be on the deceased donor’s list, but they’re also learning of different ways they can get the help they need.
“We learned that if there is somebody who is a donor and they pass away, and that family knows of my mom and they would like to say, ‘I want to donate to a fellow El Pasoan.’ You’re able to do that through direct donation,” said Leah Lopez, Augustine-Lopez’s other daughter. “Which is even hard to say, right? Because it’s someone who passed away and we’re asking for their organ. But that’s the reality of what we’re looking at. So if anyone would want to make a direct donation, we would be eternally grateful.”
Maldonado and Lopez have created a Facebook page under the name “Liver on a Prayer,” where people can join to pray for Augustain-Lopez’s well-being, as well as learn how to apply and undergo a screening process to see if they are a potential donor match for her.
“We just pray that there’s someone out there that will help us as well as anyone else that needs assistance in this matter. We love her so much, and we pray for her every single day, and we know that somebody out there will help us,” said Patty Garcia, a 36-year friend and colleague of Augustain-Lopez. They taught at the same school for years.
Now retired, Augustain-Lopez was a kindergarten teacher for 43 years, and is described by her loved ones as a “mother, grandmother, and faithful friend.”
“Now that my tia is in the hospital, we please ask you to pray for her before she gets really sick,” said Augustain-Lopez’s young niece before breaking into tears.
In light of April being National Donate Life Month, Isabel Mesa, clinical director of kidney transplant at the Las Palmas Medical Center, spoke with KTSM. She explained how it can be more practical and ideal for someone to find a living donor.
“The (living donors) organ lasts longer, they spend less time outside of the body, and you can schedule the surgery,” Mesa said. “We understand donors can have hectic lifestyles, so if we can plan the surgery, it is much easier for them to commit. — vs. a deceased donor, as it happens, if you’re receiving a donation, then you just have to adjust to that. And then sometimes this organ has been taken out of the body for more time, so they take a little longer to start functioning.”
For people who would like to learn how to help the Lopez family, you can visit their Facebook page at Liver on a Prayer , or call (214) 645-1919.
People can also reach out to the Las Palmas Medical Center for transplant services at their website or by calling (915) 264-7829.
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