SAVE DAVE – David Pryor Liver Transplant Fund

David Pryor, Age 51

The DAVID PRYOR LIVER TRANSPLANT FUND has been organized by the family and friends of David Pryor, age 51, recently diagnosed with hepatic (liver) cancer.  Without a liver transplant and chemotherapy, he has been given 6-12 months to live.  His doctors at Banner Good Samaritan Liver Disease Center, the top liver transplant in the Southwestern U.S., have said that a liver transplant is 100% curative of liver cancer and their transplant success rate is 95%. 

Unfortunately this news came just a few weeks after his Social Security Disability (SSI) and Medicare coverage were terminated because his household income increased due to his wife starting to receive early Social Security retirement benefits.  The family needs this income as his wife is his caretaker and has had to cut way back on her work time as a result.  She manages her own business from a home office and is the sole support of the household and has been caring for her husband for a few years as David is disabled with multiple medical conditions besides the newly diagnosed cancer.

Based on national averages, the cost for the pre-op, transplant & post-op treatments is around $570,000 and additional funds will likely also be needed to cover the cost of chemotherapy.  The family also needs help to sustain during this time so a portion of donations received will go to help with household and family expenses as needed.  If the Medicare coverage can be restored, or if Obamacare picks up any of the medical costs when it takes effect in January 2014, any remaining donations above out-of-pocket costs following the transplant and post-op treatment will be used to create awareness about hepatitis c through a nonprofit.  

David's wife has been a staunch advocate for hepatitis C and the transplant community.  In 2011, she mounted a recall effort against Arizona's governor in response to the governor cutting funds for life-saving organ transplants for those on Medicaid.  She worked shoulder to shoulder with other advocacy organizations to get national attention on the issue in order to persuade the governor to restore the funding (in the meantime, three bumped off the transplant list by the governor's policy died).  At that time, it did not seem likely that David would ever be needing a transplant himself.  She fought to get the governor to restore the funding out of compassion and fairness.  In a rare move for this governor, she did reverse her policy and restored the funding.

It is ironic that her husband will now be denied the funding she fought so hard for for the liver transplant and medical care that is now needed to save his life.  Please help if you possibly can!

Note:  donations are not tax-deductible