There may be no phone call a person waiting for a transplant wants more than this one:
“We may have an organ for you.”
After days, weeks, months — or sometimes years — of waiting, imagine hearing those words.
This might be it.
The waiting is finally be over...
Except there’s something many people outside the transplant world don’t realize:
The call doesn’t always mean you’re getting the transplant.
Sometimes it means there is a potential organ.
There are still things that have to happen.
The transplant team has to evaluate the available organ.
Medical information has to be reviewed.
Compatibility and other factors have to be considered.
The recipient has to be ready for surgery.
And sometimes, somewhere during that process, the answer changes.
Not this one.
From the Call to the Transplant
Think about the emotional distance between:
“We may have an organ for you.”
and
“We’re not going to proceed.”
You may have told your family.
You may have rushed to the hospital.
You may have stopped eating because surgery could be coming.
You may have mentally crossed a line you’ve been staring at for months.
This is happening.
And then it isn’t.
The organ may ultimately not be suitable.
Something about the match may prevent transplantation.
Circumstances can change.
And the person who thought the waiting was finally over returns to exactly where they were before the phone rang.
Waiting.
“Not This One”
That isn’t a failure in the system.
In fact, not proceeding is the medical team doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
The goal isn’t simply to perform a transplant because an organ became available.
The goal is to perform a transplant when the medical team determines it is appropriate to proceed.
That distinction matters.
Because transplantation involves more than finding an organ.
It means determining whether this organ, for this recipient, at this moment, should become a transplant.
Sometimes the answer is yes.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Hope Can Have a False Start
That’s another part of transplant waiting we don’t talk about very often.
The phone can ring.
The family can move.
You can rush to the hospital.
You can be admitted.
Tests can be run.
The surgical team can prepare.
You can change into a hospital gown.
You can even be on the operating table, prepped for surgery.
And then...
Not this one.
Because until the transplant actually happens, circumstances can still prevent it from going forward.
The donor organ may ultimately be determined unsuitable for transplantation.
A medical concern may emerge.
Something discovered late in the process may make proceeding unsafe or inappropriate.
Imagine the emotional distance between believing you are minutes away from receiving the organ that could save your life —
and being told:
“We can’t proceed.”
Or going into the operating room believing the transplant is about to happen, only to wake up and hear:
“We had to abort the transplant.”
You went to sleep believing the waiting was over.
You woke up still waiting.
The surgery that was supposed to change everything didn’t happen.
The hospital room becomes a waiting room again.
And your name remains on the list.
The call came.
The preparations happened.
Hope became almost tangible.
But sometimes, even then:
Not this one.
That’s why “getting the call” and “getting the transplant” aren’t the same thing.
The call means something extraordinary may be happening.
It means there is a possibility.
And sometimes that possibility gets incredibly close before becoming...
Not yet.
For someone waiting, that distinction matters.
Until the transplant actually happens, possibility is still possibility.
And somewhere today, someone may be sitting beside a phone hoping it rings —
while also knowing that when it does, there may still be one more thing they have to do.
Wait.
——— ❤️ ———
AN ORGAN DONATION EDUCATIONAL MOMENT
One question. One fact. One story. One moment at a time.
Not pressure. Not persuasion. Just understanding.
Because education matters.
Wayne Adam Greer
Author • Heart Transplant Recipient
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