Sharon Maupin

A vibrant great-grandmother; battled hepatitis C infection from tainted blood transfusion for 30 years before receiving a liver transplant in April of 2002 at UCLA.

Sharon's Story

At 60 years of age, Sharon seems much younger. With her slip-on mules, waist-hugging jeans, and triple-pierced ears, it seems almost mind-boggling to consider her a grandmother, let alone a great-grandmother. She is also a liver recipient.

Unfortunately, a blood transfusion in 1962 infected her with a silent killer: the hepatitis C virus. Spread by blood-to-blood contact, it is four times more prevalent than HIV and is also the leading cause of liver failure.

Sharon counts herself lucky. She had already given birth to her two children prior to becoming infected and her former husband has never tested positive for the virus.

The reality of hepatitis C hit home 14 years ago when a routine blood test showed elevated liver enzymes. Upon diagnosis, two courses of treatment failed to diminish or control the virus. She was placed on the liver transplant list, where her name stayed for over two years.

By early 2002, Sharon had ballooned to 200 pounds due to her failing liver and was bedridden, weak and uncomfortable. The answer came on April 22, 2002, when UCLA's transplant center called with news that a liver had become available. Within hours, Sharon received the liver of a 20-year-old organ donor who, in death, saved Sharon's life. Six weeks later, she attended the American Liver Foundation's 2002 Liver Walk.

Along with a new liver, there have been other changes. She now loves chocolate, which she hated prior to the transplant. Previously prone to "road rage," traffic and bad drivers don't frustrate her anymore.

Currently, Sharon focuses on her wellness through relaxation, diet and yoga, ad well as a daily regimen of medications to keep her body from rejecting her liver and protect her liver from the ever-persistent hepatitis C virus.