B.C. teen recovering from quadruple organ transplant

The parents of a British Columbia teen are cautiously optimistic about his chances for a full recovery after quadruple organ transplant surgery in Toronto.

Gairett MacIver, 18, received a new bowel, liver, pancreas and stomach after 12-hour surgery at Toronto General Hospital on Aug 1. He also had his gall bladder removed.

The Prince George native suffers from a rare condition where blood vessels in his bowels were not only bleeding, but also damaging other organs.His problems firstoccurred in 2001, when hebegan to suffer froma series of broken legs.

Gairett no longer requires oxygen and, so far,his body hasn't rejected the new organs.

Bill MacIver told CBC News his son has a long road ahead, but that the family has been buoyed.

"An organ donation doesn't guarantee success — we understand that," he said. "But it does guarantee that he will have another chance and that chance has been a gift for us."

Gairett's mother, Lori, said he has always had a fighting spirit, which has helped see him through the difficult times.

"He's never said, 'Why me?'" she said.

Risky procedure

Four-organ transplants only began to occur with any regularity in North American by the late 1990s, and are stillrisky.

"Only a handful of these procedures have ever been performed in Canada and the U.S.," Dr. George Therapondos, one of MacIver's transplant physicians, told the Toronto Star. "Even expert surgeons need to acquire the skill for this."

A team of 20 medical professionals helped in the surgery.

His parents said they had been in a "dismal place" until their hopes were raised with news that donors had been found and the surgery would proceed.

"We're incredibly appreciative of whoever or whatever the donor was," Bill MacIver said.

"We couldn't have done it without them," Lori MacIver added.

Gairett's uncertain release date and the fact that he will have to take drugs to maintain his health for the rest of his life are a small price to pay, they said.