ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Jenny Ireland was in desperate need of a new liver, so she and her husband posted signs and billboards across the city searching for a donor. Those signs now read, “Thank you,” because she received her new liver.
>> Local woman in desperate need of liver; here’s how you can help
“This restores my faith in humanity,” said Jenny Ireland.
Ireland was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease in 2022, and for two years she waited for a new organ.
“They told me what was best for me was to find a living donor. My husband is my champion he wanted to do billboards, and yard signs, and all that kind of stuff,” she explained.
The couple on the hunt for a living donor created a website, distributed yard signs, and purchased several large billboards that read, “Help save Jenny’s life by being a living donor.”
“It was hard putting all that energy [into the search] I mean our lives revolved around that,” Ireland said.
Until this past October when a stranger found her and donated the gift of life. Her donor angel Debbie was also on the hunt - when she saw a yard sign that moved her to make the call.
“She had gotten her son a Batman toy, and it got eaten by the dog, so she was trying to find a replacement, and when she was going to get it she saw my sign,” she said.
Now two months following the surgery, Ireland healthy and active is looking to help others.
“I’m certainly willing to help anybody even if it helps finding a donor or being there for someone after they go through it,” she explained.
Along with providing a support network Ireland hopes that by sharing her story, it will help others consider being an organ donor.
“I think a lot of people don’t even realize you can donate a part of your liver or one of your kidneys and still go on to have a very healthy and normal life,” she said.
To contact Ireland you can visit her website: https://jennyireland.com/
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