Former Long Island news anchor Amy McGorry is now urgently seeking a liver donor to save her life. At 56, she has been a well-known local reporter for News 12 and TV55 while secretly battling two rare diseases—autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis—that have been gradually damaging her liver for around 20 years.
Doctors are now warning her that time is of the essence; she needs to find a donor with O positive blood type or face dire consequences. “I’m just stunned by how badly I got punched,” McGorry shared recently.
The crisis began to escalate about six months ago when she lost consciousness and had to be hospitalized. It was during this emergency that she found out her hemoglobin levels had plummeted to 7—roughly half of what is considered normal.
In February, McGorry learned that her liver was failing, leading to the necessity of an organ transplant due to dangerous internal bleeding. “I can’t wait,” she expressed, recalling how doctors at Weill Cornell Medicine conveyed her options.
However, locating a suitable donor isn’t proving to be straightforward. McGorry, once an advocate for others, is now hoping for kindness from strangers who might be a match. Due to how patients with primary biliary cholangitis are prioritized on transplant waiting lists, she finds herself at a disadvantage and can’t afford to wait for a deceased donor.
“The issue with PBC is that you end up at the bottom of the list for transplants,” she noted. “You really have to find a willing living donor who is okay with the idea of giving part of their liver. It’s a big ask.”
So far, a GoFundMe campaign set up in her name has raised more than $3,000 for her medical costs. “Normally, I’m the one trying to help, but now I’m the one asking for help,” she reflected, highlighting the irony of her situation.
As part of the evaluation process at Cornell, she’s looking for donors aged 20 to 60 who are healthy and willing to undergo a minimally invasive procedure. “If someone steps up, it would give me a new lease on life,” she expressed. “I just want to get through this and eventually return to a normal life.”
In the midst of this battle, McGorry is also preparing to travel to Washington, D.C., next month to advocate for the Living Donor Protection Act, legislation aimed at safeguarding organ donors’ rights to job-protected leave during recovery. She’s recognized that some potential donors might be unable to assist due to work obligations.
“For me, it’s about a larger purpose. I’ve been searching for answers to why this is happening to me, and perhaps this is my way to help others,” McGorry explained. If anyone is interested in being evaluated as a potential donor, they can find more information online, using her name and date of birth to register.
