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Donations increase as treatment makes organs from opioid overdoses viable

BOSTON -- The devastating toll of the opioid epidemic is having a big impact on patients waiting for life-saving organ transplants.

In the New England region, there are five times as many organ donors who died from an overdose, as there were just a few years ago.

Families on both sides of those transplants tell Boston 25 News, that relationship is giving them a second chance.

"I probably wasn't going to live through the rest of the week," Hatem Tolba told Boston 25 News anchor Vanessa Welch.

Days after celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary, an E-coli infection left Tolba critically ill, shutting down his organs one by one. While he was in a coma, doctors told his wife, Julie, a liver transplant was his only hope.  With his rare blood type, a match was not easy to find, so doctors asked Julie what she thought about a high risk donation.  Knowing that could include a donor who overdosed, Julie Tolba was concerned, but the family was desperate.

"At that point, we just needed a liver. And if we didn't get one soon, we were going to lose him," Tolba told Welch.

Hatem Tolba survived the transplant.  He contracted hepatitis from the donated liver, but was treated and virus-free in a matter of weeks.

"That risk when you look at it nationally and locally is quite small.  the risk of dying on the list is quite big," said Alexandra Glazier, President of New England Donor Services.

In 2017, 121 "high risk" organs, known to carry hepatitis, were successfully transplanted in our area, up from just 24 transplants in 2013 according to NEDS.

Treatments to eradicate the virus in the last few years made that possible. Some of those treatments were developed by researchers in Boston, and with more on the horizon for heart and lung recipients, the pool of donors could grow even more.

"It is a silver lining because what we're able to do is offer a lifesaving legacy out of this tragedy," said Glazier.

Tolba said he struggles, knowing someone had to die to save his life.

"In their death, they're a hero to us. To my husband to our family... they're our savior," said Julie Tolba.

The Tolbas never met the family of their donor, but for many, the transplant process forges a strong bond: easing the pain of loss and renewing life in the same moment.

Pat Lopes has grown close to the recipients of her son's organs.

"He was a good worker, he was good to his kids, but he just couldn't kick the drugs," she said.

Manny Lopes died of complications from drug addiction in 2016.  He was an organ donor since he was 16 years old.

Four people are alive because Manny donated his organs. Pat had an emotional reunion at Brigham and Women's Hospital with Brian Wade, who received Manny's heart on Valentine’s Day.

She was able to hear Manny's heart, beating in Brian's chest.

"I'm happy for them, because Manny's still out there. He's living in somebody. My kid did what he did, but he went out of this earth doing a great job and he gave life," Lopes said. "And that's what gets me through, cause he's out there. He'll always be out there."

Becoming an organ donor takes just a few minutes on your phone or online.  Learn more at: neds.org.

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