NJ Police Officer Donates Part Of Liver To 2-Year-Old Nephew

MIDDLESEX BORO, NJ — A Middlesex boro police officer saved his nephew's life when he donated 25 percent of his liver to the two-year-old, who was in liver failure.

Jamie Marczak, 32, downplayed the personal risk to himself and how serious his nephew's condition was. But the boy's mother, 34-year-old Melissa DeMatteo of Lawrenceville, disagreed.

"My brother absolutely risked his own life to do this. And Lucas was close to death," DeMatteo said. "After the surgery, the surgeon told us that Lucas only had about a week left if he did not get a new liver."

When Lucas was a newborn, doctors became aware that the bile ducts in his liver did not finish developing. At just a few weeks old, he started to become jaundiced and began losing weight. When he was an infant, he had his first liver bypass surgery. But surgeons warned his mother and father that Lucas would likely need a more serious surgery as he got older.

Then, at age 2, Lucas' condition dramatically worsened. His liver essentially stopped functioning. The family watched as he turned jaundiced again and developed near-constant diarrhea and throwing up.

"He was very sick for a long time," said DeMatteo. "He was really yellow, and his belly was protruding. He would throw up 10-15 times a day. He couldn't really keep any food down."

The DeMatteo family was informed that the only thing that could save Lucas' life was if someone close to him donated a portion of their liver.

'Excruciating Search'

"We went through 10 people: I was not a fit, my husband was not a fit. Everyone kept getting rejected for some reason or another," said DeMatteo. "Or, we would find a donor who matched, but Penn Medicine would run tests and inform us at the last minute it was not going to work. It was excruciating."

And then there was Marczak, who was a match.

"It came down to me," said the police officer. "It made me so sad every time I saw my nephew. He couldn't keep any food down. Kids his age are supposed to have tons of energy and always be running around. He would just lie there. I would do anything I could to help my sister."

Marczak said he was nervous as he headed into the surgery, a six-hour procedure performed in December 2021 at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

Recovery was not easy for either Lucas or his uncle.

"I was in a lot of pain and I had a lot of fatigue," said Marczak. "It was really bad for probably two months. But now the fatigue has gone away, and I'm back to work."

Doctors told Marczak it would take about four months for his liver to regenerate itself and for him to function healthily again. As for Lucas, doctors hoped his body would adapt and accept his uncle's donated liver as its own. But organ donations, especially liver donations, have very high risk levels and complications, made worse by how young the recipient is.

Lucas developed a post-liver transplant disease, which is basically a type of cancer, and he was given chemotherapy, explained his mother. He developed leaks from the surgery and needed stents; he developed multiple infections and had to be put on a breathing machine. He also developed COVID while he was in the pediatric ICU.

Now, Lucas is back in pre-school, able to eat and digest food properly and is playing soccer. Last month, Lucas visited Middlesex Boro police headquarters

"We had to wait more than a year for the tour of headquarters, so he could feel better," said Marczak . "But he's a different person now. He can ride a bike, he runs around. He has so much energy now. And he's entirely changed, all because of the surgery."

Marczak said he wanted to tell his story in the media to show people what is possible.

"You can save the life of a family member or friend," he said. "If you are ever asked to do something like this for a loved one, you should, especially if you are young and healthy."

DeMatteo that in times of extreme struggle, family has always been there.

"These whole past three years have been really rough. I can 100 percent say that for my husband and I, our family on both sides is the only reason we made it through," DeMatteo said.