Abby Richter
Abby Richter has a promising future ahead of her thanks to a generous liver donor.
Until receiving a liver transplant on January 9, 2022, Abby had been sick all of her life. Born with portal vein hypertension, which means that the major vein in her liver had high blood pressure, Abby had four open-heart surgeries before the age of five. Abby’s parents and family gave her remarkable love and support, and she was able to have what she calls a “pretty normal” childhood. She participated in dance, tennis, and art, and spent a lot of time hiking with her family.
In October 2021, when Abby was a junior in high school, her health took a dramatic turn. Abby shares: “After COVID-19, I was going back to school while dealing with excruciating pain and nausea. I ended up losing twenty pounds in two months. After being in the hospital for a week, I was told I had liver cancer. There were tumors covering every inch of my liver.”
After the tests and scans were complete, Abby’s oncologist gave her life-changing news. Chemotherapy wasn’t going to be enough. Abby needed a liver transplant. Within weeks, in late November 2021, she was put on the liver transplant waiting list.
Abby’s diagnosis and health issues were, of course, physically challenging. They were also mentally and emotionally taxing. The previous year, 2020, Abby’s sophomore year of high school had been complicated by the Coronavirus pandemic. Now, she was finally getting back into a somewhat normal routine with school and with sports and friends, but she was suddenly gravely ill. She tells us: “One time in particular, I was in class, but I could barely stay awake. For someone who loves school, it was out of character for me. I passed out in my English class and was taken to the hospital.”
The average wait for a liver transplant can be 2-4 years. On January 9, 2022, only three months after being listed for a liver, Abby got the call that changed everything.
“It was about 8 AM. My dad and I were going out to practice driving, and as we were getting in the car, his phone rang. He started saying, ‘Really? Really? REALLY!?’ He went inside, gave the phone to my mom, and she started crying.”
Today, thanks to Abby’s generous donor, she is pursuing her dream of becoming a pediatric oncology nurse. She starts each day with a 5-mile walk or in the gym or a yoga class. She is a healthy, active, and grateful recipient, doing her best to pay it forward. In her spare time, she volunteers with Donate Life Northwest, Go Recycle Yourself, and Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA), raising awareness about the importance and impact of organ, eye, and tissue donation.
To those who are unsure about registering as a donor, she encourages them to do their research and ask any questions they have but also to know that their selfless decision will help people of all ages who need organs and will be forever grateful for the gift of life.