Ceilidh

Michael Zey
Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Cancer patient Todd Krampitz underwent a liver transplant late Thursday night, less than a week after gaining national attention with billboards that publicized his plight.

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The operation brought joy to his family -- who vowed to continue raising awareness about the need for donor organs -- but remained controversial among liver surgeons and others who criticized the campaign for circumventing the national organ waiting list.

"This is a happy day for the Krampitzes but a sad day for liver transplantation," said Dr. Pat Wood, chief of liver transplantation at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital and southeast regional medical director for LifeGift, the organ procurement agency that serves Houston. "The system in place was bypassed because the liver was given to someone who was a lower priority. And I'm not sure the patient was an appropriate candidate to transplant."

The donor materialized after stories about Todd Krampitz, who was unlikely to receive a liver before he died from cancer, appeared on CNN, Good Morning America and other programs.

Dr. John Goss, head of liver transplant programs at The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital, performed the operation on Krampitz, 32, using a liver from an out-of-state donor whose family specifically asked that the organ go to him.

Krampitz's blood type is O, which means the donor's blood type was the same. No other details about the donor were available. Krampitz was recovering Friday in Methodist Hospital's Intensive Care Unit.

"We are deeply grateful to this family," Krampitz's wife, Julie, said in a statement Friday.

One physician said the Krampitz case brought to mind that of baseball legend Mickey Mantle, who received a liver transplant in 1995 after only a short time on the waiting list. Mantle, who had the same type of cancer as Krampitz, died from his illness two months later, prompting accusations that he got a liver because of his fame.

"I hope and pray this fellow does well, but statistically I have to tell you his chances are exceedingly poor," said Dr. Steven Curley, a liver surgeon at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Krampitz, diagnosed with advanced liver cancer in May, was placed below other patients on the waiting list because of his poor prognosis. New criteria in place since Mantle's transplant gives a person with a liver tumor of 5 centimeters or less higher priority so that the liver can be replaced before the cancer spreads.

But Krampitz's tumor measured 17 centimeters in size when it was found, the family said. When doctors performed surgery in May, they were unable to remove the cancer from his liver because the disease had spread throughout.

Yet Todd and Julie Krampitz, who married in March, refused to accept the prognosis.

Using billboards that pictured Krampitz and the words "I need a liver. Please help save my life," the Krampitz family hoped to utilize a rule that allows donors or their families to designate the recipient of an organ -- and thereby go to the front of the line.

Information about how the donor family heard about Krampitz was unavailable.

In Texas, 1,284 people are waiting for livers, and fewer than 500 become available in the state each year.

leigh.hopper@chron.com

One of two billboards asking for help for liver cancer patient Todd Krampitz hangs along a Houston highway, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2004. Todd is in need of a liver transplant and his wife and family are advertising his plight with billboards and a Website. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)