Wellness Wednesday is Sponsored by Intermountain Health.
Donate Life Month may be over, but the need for organ donors is very much year-round.
For this week’s Wellness Wednesday, we sat down with Dr. James Trotter, interim medical director of liver transplant and hepatology at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, to talk about the lifesaving impact of liver transplants — and how Utah is leading the way.
“Liver transplantation is saving more lives now than it ever has,” said Dr. Trotter. “The volumes of liver transplants have quadrupled over the past four or five years. We did 191 liver transplants just last year.”
That success is due in part to new medical technology that helps keep donated livers viable for longer.
“There are now machines that allow a donated liver to be pumped with oxygen, blood and nutrients — essentially keeping it in suspended animation for up to a day, sometimes longer,” Trotter said.
But for any of that to happen, someone first has to say yes to donation.
“No donor, no transplant,” he said. “It’s critical that people not only check the box on their driver’s license, but more importantly, let their loved ones know their wishes. Because if that moment comes, you may not be able to speak for yourself.”
Utah is uniquely positioned to help. The state is home to large hospitals with dedicated transplant teams — and some of the shortest wait times in the nation.
“At Intermountain, the median wait time for a liver transplant is just 22 days,” said Trotter. “That’s a dramatic improvement. I haven’t seen anything like it since the early ’90s.”
While 90% of Utah adults say they support organ donation, only about 60% are actually registered as donors. That leaves a lot of lives still waiting for help.
And you don’t have to wait for a tragedy to help save a life.
Living donation — where someone donates a kidney or a portion of their liver while still alive — made more than 7,000 transplants possible in 2024 alone. Living donors are often family members or friends, but thanks to national donor networks, even strangers can make a match.
Want to help?
You can register as a living donor and learn more at www.IntermountainHealthcare.org/DonateLife. And the next time you renew your driver’s license, be sure to check that organ donor box.
It’s a small step that could save a life — or even several.
