From
Stranger
to Hero Story and photos by HANNAH FRIEL Design by KAYLA ANDERSON
A
cross two states are two strangers with two things in common: their love for Tennessee Tech and compatible organs. Texas resident Ray Matthews, a 74-year-old Tech alumnus, was in search of a liver donor last year. He was diagnosed with polycystic liver disease, a condition that caused over 200 cysts to grow on his liver. The weight and size caused discomfort as it pushed against his vital organs. Time was running out for an organ transplant due to a 75-year-old cut off. In order to quickly spread the word and hopefully find a donor, his wife, Mela, created Rayneedsaliver.com in August 2020 and shared the website on social media platforms. “I wasn’t hopeful, I really didn’t think [I would find a donor],” Matthews said. “Being 74 and being in good shape helped...to be on the national list of being a transplant recipient. Your age is going to keep you from finding a donor. [We received] few responses from the website...I was about to give up.” Three weeks later, a Tech administrator answered the call. Kevin Braswell, the vice president of University Advancement, heard about
4 | Eagle Eye
Matthews’ story through his wife, Leigh Anne. She saw a Facebook post of a friend between her and Mela with information she had shared about the website, and notified her husband. After reviewing information on Rayneedsaliver.com, Braswell realized he could be a serious candidate. “I thought wow I could be a match for him, and ho w wonderful it would be since he is a Tech graduate,” Braswell said. According to the National Donor List, Matthews’ donor would have to be between the ages of 21 and 55, have matching blood type, body size, and other factors. Seeing that Braswell volunteered, and he met several of the requirements, Ray and Mela flew him to San Antonio to undergo two days of intense tests to confirm the probable compatibility. “Since he is young and in good shape, it seemed like a likely match,” Matthews said. “The antibodies in his body perfectly matched mine.” Representatives from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a surgical team gathered the information and carefully reviewed the data before agreeing the surgery would be successful. The transplant team consisted of
cardiologists, liver surgeons, transplant coordinator advocates, and other medical professionals. Braswell said thanks to their rigorous process UTSA has never had a fatality on their transplant operation table. “By October 13 we were both on tables in operating rooms in surgery,” Braswell said. “So in two months we had met and were being operated on.” Before surgery could begin, both Braswell and Matthews were quarantined for two weeks and had to pass a COVID-19 test, otherwise the operation would be cancelled. Thankfully, the results were negative and the operation proceeded. The night before surgery Ray, Mela, Kevin and Leigh Anne sat together and supped on a liver cleansing soup. Donor and recipient reported to UTSA ready for operation at 4:30 a.m. They visited the chapel for a moment of prayer and were escorted to the holding area of the operating room. “It was eerily cold in there, which is normal, and then they set me up on the operating table,” Braswell said. “I had chosen to have an epidural placed, so they did that first...they numbed my back with a few shots and inserted the epidural. I remember the anesthesiologist asking if that felt okay, I said yes,
