Brandon Gerson and his friend Susan Anderson. Susan donated 65 per cent of her liver to Brandon last year. Both have fully recovered and are participating in a fundraising run in September to raise money for transplant awareness.Supplied
The organizers: Brandon Gerson and Susan Anderson
The pitch: Raising $41,000
The cause: The Centre for Living Organ Donation in Toronto
Brandon Gerson spent more than a decade living with a rare liver condition knowing that some day he would likely need a transplant.
Mr. Gerson, 41, had been diagnosed in 2007 with an autoimmune disease that affects bile ducts that run through the liver. He was told there was no effective treatment and the best that he could do was lead a healthy lifestyle. “So I just kind of went on living my life and it didn’t really bother me,” he recalled from his home in Toronto where he works in finance.
He took a turn for the worse in the fall of 2021 and his wife began looking for a potential liver donor. Her search eventually led to Susan Anderson.
Ms. Anderson, a marketing leader in Toronto, had met Mr. Gerson when they were both in the masters business program at Western University and they’d become close friends. She immediately offered to undergo testing to see if she could be a donor.
She learned that the survival rate for liver donors was virtually 100 per cent and that the recovery took about eight weeks. “It was almost like, such a small inconvenience in my life for such a huge impact,” she said.
Ms. Anderson, 40, was a match and on Aug. 10, 2022, doctors at Toronto General Hospital removed 65 per cent of her liver and transplanted it to Mr. Gerson. When he woke up, many of his symptoms had vanished. “I’d say that my recovery, all things considered, has been fairly uneventful,” he said.
Ms. Anderson has also recovered and her liver is back to full strength.
On Sept. 10, the friends will participate in the annual Yorkville Run to raise money for the Centre for Living Organ Donation at the University Health Network, which includes Toronto General. “It’s also about raising awareness and hoping that others can have a smooth road paved for them to transplant to those who are in need,” he said.
Mr. Gerson is hoping to raise $41,000 from the run. “The number 41 means a lot,” he said. “Because Susan’s donation helped me get to 41.”
Paul Waldie