Alfonso Garcia, the son of a respiratory therapist at UCSF Medical Center, was a typical, healthy 15-year-old when he started feeling sick ─ feverish, anemic, fatigued and jaundiced. Alfonso learned he had Wilson's disease, a rare genetic disorder in which copper isn't properly eliminated from the body and damages the liver and nervous system. He and his family received a grave prognosis. He had just 48 hours to find a liver transplant or he might not survive. With the help of Philip Rosenthal, M.D. a pediatric liver specialist, and Ryutaro Hirose, M.D.,an organ transplant surgeon, Alfonso received a successful, emergency liver transplant. The donor was another young man, a 22-year-old from Sacramento who had lost his life suddenly due to a sinus infection that had spread to his brain. Two weeks later, Alfonso underwent another procedure to repair his bile duct. Alfonso, now 17 and a senior at Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley, takes twice-daily anti-rejection medication, gets monthly lab tests and has follow-up visits every six months at UCSF.
On Wednesday, July 20, Alfonso realized a life-long dream when he threw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park as part of the Giants' Organ Donation Awareness Day. An ambassador for the California Transplant Donor Network, Alfonso speaks at high schools, colleges, clinics and youth groups to encourage people to register as organ donors. Recently, Alfonso and his family were united with the family of the young donor who saved Alfonso's life. During the emotional encounter, the two families exchanged videos of the two young men. The meeting, Alfonso said, was a mix of joy and sadness for both families. Alfonso's father, Oscar, who has worked for UCSF for 20 years, said the donor is the real hero and that he's so grateful to UCSF and his colleagues ─ " the doctors, the nurses, everyone" ─ who helped save his son's life.