01/08/2026
*Please share!*
To those who may not know me, my name is Katie. My mom, Denine Hickey is sick and is on the transplant list for a liver. She needs a living donor with blood type O+ or O- to donate at Toronto General Hospital.
For a person diagnosed with liver disease and/or liver cirrhosis, there is a long and difficult wait for a deceased donor. Sadly, some patients will die waiting. Living liver donation is when a healthy person donates a portion of their liver. A living donor’s liver regenerates in approximately six weeks! Since 1990, more than 1,000 living liver donor transplants have been done at Toronto General Hospital. All donors have returned to their regular lifestyle with no restrictions.
My mom has been living with disabilities for over 25 years. She was born, raised, and is currently living in Ajax, Ontario where she raised myself and my brother as well. She has gone through so much hardship in life to get to where she is, and to have us, her rainbow baby twins (Rory and I). It is only fair that we try as hard to keep her here as she did to give us this life. She is my best friend, my therapist, my driving co-pilot, and the most kind, trusting, and understanding mother I could ever ask for.
When her health allows it, my mom has lunch with friends, has weekly visits with her own mom, and is always up for going on little adventures. She loves to go to the CNE each Summer, gossiping on the couch with me and my friends, and has always taken care of others like they were here own children. She loves listening to her music, especially Michael Bublé and Jann Arden. She also enjoys Hallmark Christmas movies, her daily soap operas, and relaxing on our front porch, basking in the sunlight and enjoying the weather. She is a life-long, die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan and has raised her children to be the same; she never misses watching a game despite the chaos.
My mom is looking past the transplant to her life afterwards. She wants to see me graduate with my first proper college degree and to see my brother succeed in the trades with a Red Seal. She wants to see her kids get married one day and wants to be here for her current and future grandchildren.
How to help:
You can share this post! If interested, anyone with blood type O+ or O- between the ages of 16 and 60 years and in good health (no diabetes, cancer, kidney or heart disease) can apply to be a living donor. Candidates go through a comprehensive assessment to ensure they are healthy enough to donate. Completing and submitting a health history form is the first step in this assessment and begins your application. The health history to be completed here:https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Living_Donor_Program/Documents/Living_Donor_Health_History_Form.pdf
Find out more:
To learn more about living donation and to apply to become my mom’s living liver donor, please visit: https://www.uhn.ca/Transplant/Living_Donor_Program/Pages/living_liver_donor.aspx
To ask questions anonymously, contact:
Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN
Phone: 416-340-5400
Email: livingorgandonation@UHN.ca
Website: http://www.livingorgandonation.ca
Please share this with anyone you know who might be willing to help. We will need someone brave and generous to give my mom the gift of life. Thank you so much to anyone who applies and spreads the word. We are all deeply grateful to you.
