In February 2022, Colton Lowe’s father, Edward, his best friend, was diagnosed with stage 4 liver failure.
He needed a liver transplant.
Colton wanted to donate his liver to his father as a living donor.
But there are requirements to fulfill.
Colton would have to meet them in order to become an eligible donor.
According to the Liver Foundation, to be a donor, you needed to be between the age of 18 and 55 years old with a body mass index (BMI) of a maximum of 30 to 32.
The donor must also be in good physical health with no chronic disease, HIV, or active malignancy.
The donor has to have good mental health with no drug or substance abuse record.
And most importantly, the donor must have been self-motivated to make the donation.
“I was like, I can donate right?” Colton shared. “The [doctors] said, how much do you weigh? I said, does that matter? They said you have to have a BMI of at most 32 to donate. I did the math, I was at 30. I said yes.”
Colton was blessed
Fortunately for Edward and Colton, Colton’s BMI was 30 and he was a match for his donor.
A year ago was a different story.
Colton would have been far from being a living liver donor. In April 2021, Colton weighed 478 lbs.
In less than a year, he was able to lose almost 300 lbs safely. What motivated him to lose the weight?
Colton and Edward had been working on a hot rod all of fall and winter just to get it running.
When they finally got it going and it was ready for a test drive, there was a big problem. Colton couldn’t fit inside the car.
It was the push he needed.
He finally got to work on his weight and health.
“He was looking for longevity to make his life healthier and put himself in a better position. As the story was unfolding and being told, it quickly evolved for him to help someone else – his father,” Dr. Jason Balette, weight loss surgeon at Memorial Hermann, said.
It couldn’t have been better timing.
And when his father was diagnosed with liver failure and needed a liver transplant, he was in the right condition to give his father the most precious gift: a second chance at life.
Not only does Colton have a car with lots of sentimental and personal value, but he’s also got great health and his father has a second life.
A perfect match
Recently, just before Father’s Day, they also learned that a perfect match was found for Edward.
So it looks like the doctors will have to prep Edward soon for a liver transplant. And in case it doesn’t work, they have Colton’s liver as a backup.
With a liver transplant, a healthy liver is needed for the operation and it usually comes from a person who just died.
And if that doesn’t work out, they can use a part of a healthy liver from a living donor and live a healthy life.
It’s good to know Edward has several choices for his second life.
Watch the video below to see all of Colton’s hard work!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
