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Elderly Woman Gives Liver Transplant to Stranger in Need

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Aug 17, 2016

In an incredibly sacrificial gesture, an elderly woman has given up the liver transplant that was meant for her for the sake of a younger patient who needed it.

According to ChristianToday.com, 69-year-old Brenda Jones from Dallas, Texas, had been waiting for a liver transplant for a year when she finally got news that a match had been found for her.

She was taken to Baylor University Medical Center for the transplant procedure, but before she could undergo it, she met Abigail Flores, a recently married 23-year-old, who was also waiting for a transplant and had only a few days to live if she did not get one.

After finding that her transplant was also a match for Flores, Jones immediately decided to give Flores her transplant.

"In my heart, I wouldn't have been able to live with the liver if I had let this little girl die," Jones said. "And I still had more time ... I would have been a very selfish person."

"All I could think about was that I had more time to wait a little longer on a liver and she didn't have any time ... I just knew that's what I had to do ... it was common sense," she added.

Jones’ step of faith was blessed by God when, only a few days after she had given her liver transplant to Flores, she got the news that another matching liver had been found for her.

Both Jones and Flores are now recovering from their procedures in hospital rooms near each other.

Flores said she thanks God every day for Jones.

"If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be sitting right here right now," Flores said. "It makes me feel good because my husband and I, we just got married and we want to have kids. She gave me the opportunity to be able to do that later on in life."

"I thank God for her each and every day," she added.

 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: August 17, 2016