You could be the key to saving a Navan, Ont. man's life as he seeks a living liver donor
A Navan man in need of a liver transplant is appealing to the public and sharing his story in the hopes of finding a match in order to save his life.
61-year-old Rolland Hupé was diagnosed with fatty liver disease and about four years ago, doctors told him he would need a liver transplant in order to live.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"It's a rollercoaster. He has good days, today is a good day and he has days where he doesn't get out of bed, he's weak and he's not well," said Hupé's wife Anne-Marie.
"They are encouraging us to look for a living donor so he could get a liver before he deteriorates too much, to increase his chances."
But the search has been far from easy. So far, there hasn't been a match.
"We had a lot of people that came forward," said Rolland, holding back tears.
Including his two children and his wife, along with other family members, but no one qualified.
"I went through the process, like months of testing and then four days before the surgery, it was cancelled because the last test they did found something they didn't think matched for him and would make a successful outcome for him," said Hupé. "That was devastating for us."
They expanded their search to social media, but there's been no luck there either, and with Rolland's latest health scare, time is running out.
"He's a young man in my mind, he's 61, and we have many years ahead of us," said Hupé. "We've been married for 37 years this year and it's never enough time."
Hupé's ideal match is someone 5-foot-10 or taller, with the blood type O+ or O- or A+ or A- to donate a portion of their liver at the Toronto General Hospital.
"The beautiful thing about the liver is after removing a portion of the liver it grows back to full size in both the person who donated a portion of their liver as well as the recipient who received that organ in about three months," said Dr. Nazia Selzner, UHN Living Donor Program's medical director.
Not only would a match save Hupé's life but it would bump up another name on the transplant list as well.
"The list of people who need livers or organs at all is so long, we don't know if we have weeks or months," his son Nicolas said.
While both Hupé and his wife are retired, they lived their lives helping others as a teacher and in social services.
Now they're hoping someone may be able to help them and give Hupé a second chance at life.
To find out more about donating visit uhn.ca/transplant. Donors must be between 16 and 60 years old.
If you would like to ask questions anonymously to learn more you can also email livingorgandonations@uhn.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.