October is National Liver Awareness Month. Dean Obernesser, 63, is using this month to advocate for a new liver for himself.

“You don’t take life for granted; you appreciate every day,” said Obernesser, who currently on the waitlist for a liver transplant. 

In 2021, Obernesser’s life changed significancy after he fell from his roof and broke his humerus bone. From having surgery, going through testing and gaining 60 pounds, he learned he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

“Your liver is your filtration system for your body. It rids your body of all toxins, one of the worst which is Ammonia,” said Obernesser. 

His diagnosis has caused mental and physical changes.  

“You should have a pneumonia level of around 30, Obernesser said. "And when it goes up, you start to get disoriented. The first time it happened to me, I didn’t wake up in the morning. My wife called 911. I was unconscious and non-responsive.”

Day-to-day tasks like making a cup of coffee are challenging for him.  

“My cellphone, I can’t figure out the phone, I can’t figure out the text message,” said Obernesser.

He was able to secure a spot at the University of Rochester’s Liver Transplant Program. They decided to put him on the liver transplant waiting list.  

“For liver transplant patients in this country in the United States, we have around close to 10,000 patients waiting to get transplanted,” said Dr. Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro, chief of the University of Rochester Medicine Transplant Institute.

Hernandez-Alejandro says programs like live donor donation can help patients like Obernesser.  

“Live donation in the United States, it’s only about 6% of all the liver transplants that we do in the country,” Hernandez-Alejandro said. “Interestingly, at the University of Rochester, it’s around 20%. It’s teaching to the families, it’s working with the communities and the institutions for increasing organ donation in Rochester, in New York state and around the country.”

For Obernesser, he’s patiently waiting for a match.  

“[We have a] 6-month-old grandchild, our first grandchild, so it would be nice to be around for a while,” said Obernesser.  

To conisder being on the live donor transplant list you can visit https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/conditions-and-treatments/live-donor-transplant