Harvey Steele, Liver Recipient

Harvey J. Steele says he never has to play the lottery because he won it…twice. He received two life-saving liver transplants in three days. In July of 1997, Harvey started to slow down. He was extremely tired, gained a lot of weight in his stomach, and his skin and eyes turned yellow – a tell-tale sign that something was wrong with his liver. He went to the doctor and found out that 12 years earlier, Hepatitis C had made its way into a blood transfusion he received due to a bleeding ulcer. That disease destroyed his liver to the point that it was barely functioning. The only hope for him to survive was to get a liver transplant. Harvey was on the National Transplant Waiting List for about two months. On November 2, 1997, his life changed forever. The waiting was over. HE received a liver transplant. But then, something unexpected happened. The doctor told Harvey that his new liver was not going to be a “long-term solution,” and that he needed another transplant. The doctor wasn’t kidding – Harvey was given less than a week to live. He was put at the top of the National Transplant Waiting List. Then, another miracle happened. On November 5, 1997 – his wife’s birthday – Harvey received a second liver transplant. That liver has been in Harvey for more than 12 years. He took his second chance at life and continues to run with it. He co-hosts Toledo’s number one morning radio show, Shores & Steele, on K100. He has been married for 30 years. He has been able to see his daughters grow up. And he takes every opportunity to speak about the importance of organ donation because without it, he would not be here today.

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"My life is just like it would've been if I had never gotten sick, but I never, even for a moment, forget the amazing gift I’ve been given."

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"If more people sign up, more lives will be saved and fewer families will lose a father, husband, grandfather or loved one because a transplant didn't come soon enough"

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