Introducing the Living Donor Page: Beginning a Different Kind of Conversation

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There are moments in this transplant journey when the path ahead feels clear, almost illuminated – physical therapy milestones, lab results trending in the right direction, the quiet discipline of low‑sodium cooking, the grounding ritual of reading the Tao Te Ching before bed. And then there are moments when the path feels less like a path and more like a threshold; a doorway – an entrance, if you will – you’ve known was coming, but still hesitated to step through.

This post is me stepping through.

Today, I’m introducing a new section of my website: the Living Donor page. It’s something I’ve known I would eventually need, but I wasn’t ready to write until now. Not because the need wasn’t real – it has been real for a long time – but because I wanted to arrive at this moment with clarity, humility, and a sense of grounded purpose rather than fear or urgency.

If you’ve been tracking Zen and the Art of Liver Maintenance, or listening to Oh! My Liver! with Will and me, you already know the broad strokes of my story. I’m living with cirrhosis. I’m on the UNOS transplant waiting list. I’m doing the work – over 1000 hours of physical therapy so far, regular therapy for the mind and spirit, a healthier diet than I’ve ever maintained in my life, and a commitment to staying present even when the waiting feels like its own endurance sport.

But there’s another truth that lives alongside all of that:
A living donor could save my life.

And saying that out loud – publicly, plainly, without metaphor or theatrical flourish – is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

Why a Living Donor Page?

The transplant waiting list is a lifeline, but it is also a long, uncertain road. A living donor transplant, on the other hand, can dramatically shorten that wait and improve outcomes for both the donor and the recipient. It’s safe, it’s well‑studied, and it’s a path many people take every year.

But it requires something extraordinary: another human being choosing to give a piece of themselves – literally – to help someone else live.

That’s not a small ask. It’s not something to toss casually into a social media post or slip into a podcast episode between jokes about spleens and the absurdity of medical bureaucracy. It deserves space. It deserves care. It deserves a page where people can learn, explore, and consider without pressure.

So that’s what I’ve created.

The Living Donor page is a place where I explain the process, share resources from MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute, and other organization, and offer a clear, compassionate starting point for anyone who wants to understand what living donation actually involves. It’s not a pitch. It’s not a plea. It’s an invitation to knowledge, connection, and possibility.

The Emotional Math of Asking

There’s a particular vulnerability that comes with needing help you can’t give yourself. I’ve spent my life being the helper – the creative collaborator, the friend who shows up, the dad who tries to make hard things easier with humor and memes, the colleague who solves problems before they become problems. Asking for something this big flips that dynamic on its head.

It asks me to trust.
It asks me to be seen.
It asks me to let people care.

And honestly, that’s harder than any physical therapy session I’ve done.

But I’ve learned something over the past year: when you share your story honestly, people don’t run away. They lean in. They connect. They reflect your courage back to you in ways you didn’t expect.

So this page is also an act of trust. Trust that the people in my life – and the people who have found this blog and podcast through their own winding paths – will receive this with the same compassion and curiosity that has carried me through every chapter so far.

What You’ll Find on the Page

I wanted the page to be clear, accessible, and grounded in real information. Here’s what it includes:

• A simple explanation of living liver donation
  No medical jargon, no fear‑based framing – just the basics of how it works and why it’s possible.
• Information from MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute and Other Organizations
  They’re the experts guiding my care, and their resources are thorough, evidence‑based, and donor‑focused. And there are lots of partners and resources on organ transplantation.
• A confidential screening link
  Anyone who wants to explore the possibility can do so privately, without needing to tell me unless they choose to.
• A personal note from me
  Not a pitch. Not a persuasion attempt. Just a human-to-human acknowledgment of what this decision means.
• A space for the latest blog entries and ongoing updates
  As I learn more, as the process evolves, as my journey continues, this page will grow with it.

Beginning the Conversation

This post isn’t meant to answer every question or resolve every emotion. It’s meant to open a door. To say:
I need a living donor.
And also:
I understand the weight of that ask.
And also:
You are free to explore, learn, and consider without expectation.

If you’re reading this because you care about me – thank you. If you’re reading this because you’re curious about living donation – thank you. If you’re reading this because you’ve been on your own transplant journey and you know how complicated this moment feels – thank you.

I don’t take any of it lightly.

Where This Fits in the Larger Story

One of the themes that keeps emerging in my writing, my therapy sessions, and my conversations with Will on the podcast is the idea that waiting is not passive. Waiting is a practice. Waiting is a discipline. Waiting is a kind of art.

But asking – this kind of asking – is also an art. It requires honesty, humility, and a willingness to let the story expand beyond your own control.

This page is part of that expansion.

It’s a new chapter in a journey I never expected to take, but one that has brought me closer to my family, my friends, my creative community, and myself. It’s a chapter rooted in hope – not blind hope, but grounded, informed, intentional hope.

The kind of hope that says:
There are still possibilities ahead.
There are still paths forward.
There are still people who might choose to walk them with me.

Thank You for Being Here

Whether you explore the Living Donor page, share it, or simply hold me in your thoughts as I continue this journey, I’m grateful. Truly. This community – this strange, beautiful constellation of readers, listeners, friends, and fellow travelers – has become one of the most sustaining parts of my life.

And now, together, we step through this next doorway.

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