Lincoln woman saves father’s life by donating part of her liver

“So I asked the doctor and he wouldn’t let me come, but now I’m going to cry, but it’s father’s day so he said I could come visit and say Happy Father’s Day.”

It’s the Father’s Day visit Marshall Bowers won’t soon forget.

In June he underwent surgery to receive part of a liver from a donor.

The donor– his daughter Melissa Sorter.

“I knew that I had to have surgery because my liver was gone, she didn’t have to,” Bowers said.

In 2017 Bowers told his family his liver was failing and he would need a transplant.

Despite living nearly six hours away in Lincoln, Nebraska Sorter jumped in and volunteered to be tested to see if she could donate.

She was a perfect match.

This year on June 15 Sorter donated 65% of her liver to her father.

They underwent a combined 24 hours of surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis.

The surgery- a complete success.

Their reunion coming just two days later on Father’s Day.

“To see him the first time the first time was super exciting. He had good color, he looked great, it was just really awesome to see him for the first time on that recovery phase,” Sorter said.

Sorter and Bowers are both continuing their recovery, but the bond Bowers shares with his daughter is a gift that brought him a second chance at life.