Basic HTML Version
Sign me up!
Registering to be an organ donor is easy and only takes a minute. Go to www.donatelifetexas.org,
or sign up the next time you renew your driver’s license or license plate tags. You’ll be one step
closer to saving someone’s life and giving your family peace of mind.
To learn more, go to
www.MethodistHealthSystem.org/OrganDonation
.
Garry Renteria
had been on
the liver transplant waiting list for years
and had also looked into the possibility
of obtaining a living donor transplant.
His good friend Rosemary Ybarra
volunteered to be his donor because they
both had the same blood type. At the
time, the friends didn’t know how soon
Ybarra would have that opportunity.
“Rosemary was more than a friend; she
was family,” Renteria says. “In fact, she
introduced me to my wife, Dorelia.”
After his discharge from the U.S.
Navy in 1983, Renteria had gone to a
dance where he met Ybarra, who in turn
introduced him to his future wife.
Ybarra became a natural addition
to the Renteria family — so much so
that they were all planning an end-of-
summer vacation to South Padre Island.
Then they received the call that changed
everything: While driving home from
work in August 2011, Ybarra had a
brain aneurysm that burst. She was
pronounced brain-dead the next day.
“The news was devastating,” Renteria
says. “We couldn’t believe our friend
was gone.”
The blessing that remained
The next act of courage and compassion
by Ybarra’s family forever changed
Renteria’s life.
“Rosemary’s mom and sisters told
me they couldn’t do anything to bring
Rosemary back, but they could fulfill
her wishes,” he says. “Her family said
Rosemary had wanted to bless me with
her liver, and they had decided to donate
her liver directly to me.”
Renteria admits he had some reserva-
tions about the transplant and asked
his physician, Alejandro Mejia, MD,
an independently practicing transplant
surgeon on the medical staff at Methodist
Dallas Medical Center, how long his
current liver would last.
“Dr. Mejia said it was hard to deter-
mine, but I knew that a lesion recently
found on my liver could turn out to be
cancer,” Renteria says. After carefully
discussing it with his family, Renteria
decided to go ahead with the transplant.
“It went very well, and I feel great,”
Renteria says.
Thanks to outstanding care from the
medical staff and nurses, his six days
in the hospital were far easier than past
surgeries he’d experienced, and his
symptoms have subsided.
After the transplant, Dr. Mejia further
affirmed Renteria’s choice to have the
procedure. Not only was Ybarra’s liver
extremely healthy and exceptionally
compatible with Renteria’s, but the
lesion on his old liver was indeed
cancerous, capable of causing
catastrophic liver failure.
Gratitude and heroism
“Rosemary was such a giving person,”
Renteria says, adding that her other
organs, tissues, and bones were also
donated to save and improve the lives
of grateful recipients.
Inspired by this faithful friendship,
many people, including the Renterias’
own daughters and extended family, have
registered as organ donors.
“We have lost a real hero,” Renteria says.
“Rosemary dedicated herself to helping
others. She gave her all, even to the end.”
Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The
physicians on the Methodist Health System medical staff are
independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of
Methodist Health System.
HEALTH HEROES:
TheWall of Heroes is located on the third floor of Methodist Dallas
Medical Center in the critical care waiting area. The wall displays photos of those
who have saved lives through organ donation. It’s a shared effort between the
Methodist Dallas Donor Collaborative Team and Southwest Transplant Alliance.
Methodist Health System
•
❁
Spring 2012
9