Never underestimate the influence of media.
An ex-Long Island TV journalist, desperately in need of a liver transplant, found hope when a devoted viewer volunteered to become her donor.
Amy McGorry, formerly with News 12, discovered she had found a match on Monday during a class she was teaching at Long Island University, thanks to coverage from her old network and other media.
The revelation led to an emotional scene with her students.
“I got the news during my health science class at LIU on the last day of term. I shared it with the students who have supported me throughout this journey, and they all applauded,” she shared with The Post.
“It was incredibly heartwarming.”
McGorry, 56, has long battled two rare diseases – autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) – that have degraded her liver to the point that she needs a donor with O-positive blood.
Her medical emergency reached an ominous stage about six months ago when she passed out and was hospitalized, The Post reported in March.
She was told in February that she needed a new liver because she was suffering dangerous internal bleeding.
The donor wants to remain anonymous leading up to June’s scheduled transplant surgery, but the good Samaritan is a News 12 viewer who watched a segment about McGorry’s health crisis.
The viewer went through a series of tests to confirm he or she would be able to donate the liver, McGorry said.
“They would be giving me a new lease on life,” McGorry said about a potential donor in March.
“I just want to get this done and eventually put all of this behind me and live normally.”
The ex-journalist has also become an advocate for other patients in similar situations.
She traveled to Washington DC in April to push for the Living Donor Protection Act – a bill that would strengthen protections and close gaps that leave organ donors without job-protected leave during recovery.
