a former nurse whose liver was damaged by hepatitis c following an accidental needle stick has received an organ transplant thanks to a donor who came forward after reading about her in this newspaper.
pam hopkins-dargavel, 68, is now recovering in toronto general hospital after a complex, 12-hour surgery on march 20. her new liver is functioning well, doctors say, and many of her blood tests have normalized.
“it means she has a life back,” her husband, greg dargavel, said in a telephone interview. “she’ll be on certain anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life, but with a fully-functioning liver, she will be an average 68-year-old woman.”
the organ donor, dan plouffe, 39, of ottawa, came forward after reading about hopkins-dargavel’s plight in the citizen.
“i didn’t jump in right away: i said, ‘boy, i hope someone else steps up for her,” said plouffe, a father of two and founder of the
ottawa sports pages. “the second time, i said, ‘ok, she still needs help, let’s see what i can do.”
when medical tests proved he was a blood type match, plouffe said he felt lucky to be able to offer hopkins-dargavel the chance at a new life. “it takes someone to act,” he said. “in a lot of ways, it was kind of black and white: if no one steps forward then pam dies.”