Pat and Ally's Story
Allison Cassidy and Pat Murray consider themselves to be the luckiest people in the world – as a living donor Pat saved Ally's life through a liver donation.
In March of 2006, Pat met Ally's husband Bruce at the cast party on the opening night of the musical HAIR. Bruce, a musician in the pit band, told Pat that his wife and mother to 9-year-old daughter Kailas would surely die if a suitable liver donor was not found within the next eight months.
Pat was astounded to learn that the use of living donors for liver transplants was possible. A few close friends and family members had tried to donate to Ally, but due to medical reasons or personal obligations, were unable to do so. That very evening, Pat offered to donate part of her liver to save Ally's life. Four and a half months and a myriad of medical tests later, Pat was deemed the official donor.
An accomplished and talented singer, Pat is also a full-time high school drama teacher. Her employment and associated benefits – combined with living rent-free with her partner – allowed her to take the required three month recovery time off work. Without these fortunate advantages, the cost of her participation would have been prohibitive.
Motivated by the realization that not everyone has the financial resources to enable them to be a living donor, Pat and Ally began the project A Life a Year. This is their goal – to save a life a year.
How You Can Help:
1) Come to the Party!
Pat and her musical partner Mark Kieswetter have just recorded the CD Ticket to Ride: The Beatles Book (Ally's husband Bruce is a guest on the album!). Partial proceeds from every CD sold through A Life a Year will be donated to the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation's Transplant Fund for Excellence.
CD Release Party
Saturday, November 27th, 3:30 to 6:30 pm
The Rex Hotel
194 Queen Street West.
More details available: www.patmurray.ca
2) Make a Generous Donation!
You can donate directly to the Transplant Fund for Excellence through this website. Any amount is useful and appreciated, and a tax receipt for the full amount will automatically be generated and immediately sent to your email address. Your gift will go directly to meeting the needs of both the living donors and the recipients. While being a living donor may be the ultimate act of generosity, it does not come without a price. Your generous financial gift will make it possible for more living donors to step forward and subsequently save more lives.
