Wife Saves Husband's Life by Donating Her Liver: 'God Put Us Together for This Reason'
A wife from Connecticut literally gave a part of herself to her husband to show just how much she loved him and wanted him alive.
In a classic love story, Jen saved her husband's life by donating part of her liver when his own began to fail in 2015, Today.com reported.
Matt, her husband, is now thriving and thankful to his wife for the gift of life.
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"It's pretty amazing, it's kind of humbling, it's just a great thing," said Matt Ragaini, 36, of Bristol, Connecticut.
"I feel that God put us together for this reason, and now we're one," said his wife Jen, 40. "I feel closer than ever to him."
In 2005, Matt was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic and long term liver condition that often leads to death due to liver failure, according to the American Liver Foundation.
Matt was added to an organ transplant waiting list in 2010, while Jen began a Facebook page to seek a donor.
However, nothing came out of their effort to find a donor.
When Matt's liver began to fail in 2014, a doctor suggested that Jen could serve as a donor. Jen immediately got herself tested and it turned out she was the perfect match.
Matt was hesitant about the proposed liver transplant with his wife as donor. He knew that they could both die if something went wrong with the transplant, leaving their 8-year-old daughter without a parent, according to Faithwire.
But Jen dismissed the risks, saying she wanted to save the life of the man she loved.
"I saw what he was going through on a daily basis, so I was determined to save him," she said. "I promised [my daughter] I would save daddy — somehow, some way — and I did."
Matt received two-thirds of Jen's liver during the transplant surgery that took place on Feb. 10, 2015, at Yale New Haven Hospital. It was a success. In just a few days, Matt started feeling well again as he regained strength. He resumed work less than three months after his surgery.
Seven weeks after the surgery, Jen's liver reportedly regrew to its normal size, and she's also back at work.
Since then, Matt and Jen have become passionate advocates for organ donation, volunteering with Donate Life, and mentoring potential donors.
