'Miracle' liver donor needed for New Stanton man

Unless he can find a liver donor, New Stanton’s Alvin Jaworski has months to live.

His wife, Kathleen Jaworski, is hoping for a miracle. A few strangers have come together to help her find it.

A large sign alongside busy Route 819 in Hempfield reads “Be Al’s Miracle! O+ Liver Donor.”

Jaworski, 71, is a fun-loving man with a quiet sense of humor, who likes collecting toy trains and baseball cards, according to his wife.

“He enjoys life, he enjoys going out, he enjoys the little things,” she said.

He was diagnosed with nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver about five years ago. In the last few months, his health has taken a drastic turn for the worse, Kathleen Jaworski said. He has passed out multiple times, lost about 80 pounds and made repeated trips to the hospital.

This month, a doctor told him he has less than six months to live without a liver transplant.

“I just started sobbing, because it’s basically a death sentence,” Kathleen Jaworski said.

She posted on Facebook, asking for help and support. A friend encouraged her to share her story on Across Westmoreland, a Facebook group with more than 63,000 members.

When she did, the response was “overwhelming,” she said.

Hundreds of people responded and shared the post.

When Ashley Cottone saw the post, she started thinking of ways she could contribute.

“It just felt like I really wanted to help,” the North Huntingdon resident said.

She owns SignGypsies Westmoreland, a company that makes large novelty signs to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.

She contacted Kathleen and offered to donate a sign asking for donors. Both Cottone and the Jaworskis live on quiet streets. Not many people would see the sign if it was at either of their homes. They needed a new location.

Once again they turned to Facebook, asking if anyone in the Across Westmoreland group could host the sign.

Cathi Myers saw the post. She doesn’t know Cottone, or the Jaworskis, but she knows what it’s like to fear for a loved one.

Her husband was recently in a serious car crash, luckily escaping with only minor injuries, she said. Her father died about five years ago.

“I know what my mom’s going through without my dad,” she said.

Her house is ideally situated on Route 819, passed by hundreds of cars a day.

“I have a yard. It’s insignificant, but it’s a yard, and maybe somebody will see it so (Kathleen) doesn’t have to go through what my mom went through,” she said.

Cottone put the sign in Myers’ yard, and Myers shared photos of the sign on Facebook. The response so far has been huge, Myers said.

“Between people driving by, and the Facebook post, my phone was pinging like crazy,” she said.

She’s been directing calls to Kathleen Jaworski.

Alvin Jaworski will get evaluated and tested early next month, at which point doctors will start working with potential donors to find a liver for him, Kathleen Jaworski said.

She’s asking anyone interested and eligible to sign up for UPMC’s donor registry at livingdonorreg.upmc.com.

“If they’re able to help, please fill out the registry,” she said. “Even if you’re not a perfect match for Al, there are other folks out there who need the same kind of help we need.”

Those with further questions can contact her directly at 724-396-8041.

During a liver transplant, doctors remove part of a donor’s liver and transfer it to the recipient. Livers are able to regenerate, so both will eventually grow back to full size.

Eligible donors must be between the ages of 18 and 55, and in good health, according to UPMC guidelines. They must be the same blood type as the recipient — O+ in Alvin Jaworski’s case. That’s the most common blood type, shared by more than 37% of Americans, according to the American Red Cross.

About 14,000 people in the United States are waiting for a liver, according to Donate Life America, a nonprofit devoted to organ transplants.