Marcia Cohen Organ Recipient
 Marcia
was 62 when she was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis,
an autoimmune disease that affects the liver and occurs
primarily in women. She had no symptoms until 11 years
after her diagnosis. Then she began to lose her energy,
fluid accumulated in her abdomen (ascites), and she
began to lose mental clarity, which varied from a mild
inability to do simple mathematical calculations to
states of semi-consciousness (encephalopathy).
About 10 months after these symptoms
first appeared, Marcia was going to the hospital every
10 to 12 days to have about seven liters of fluid removed
from her abdomen, or because she was semi-conscious,
or because the potassium, sodium, magnesium, and other
salts (electrolytes) in her body fluids were dangerously
out of balance.
She sought a liver transplant and was
turned down even before all preliminary tests had been
completed. One of her physicians urged the transplant
program to reconsider their decision -- largely because
her liver was more damaged than they had originally
thought and because she was healthier than her age (74)
would suggest. While that reconsideration was underway,
Marcia was once again hospitalized. During this hospitalization
she was told that a liver might be available at a transplant
center across town. Because there was not time to get
an ambulance, her husband bundled her into their car
and drove her to the transplant hospital. Two hours
later she was in surgery and was, at that time, the
oldest liver recipient in the region.
 The
next morning, her response to the usual, "How do
you feel?" was, "Piece of cake!" Nine
months later she had returned to one of her favorite
activities, horseback riding, and was riding at the
annual family Thanksgiving get-together at a dude ranch
in Arizona.
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