JACKSON, Wyo. — Mark Henderson is no stranger to generosity.
The nurse at Legacy Lodge of Jackson Hole is renowned in his workplace for his kind, helpful demeanor. He recently made national news for a life-saving act of generosity: donating part of his liver to a man in need.
Henderson was a recent guest on “The Today Show” to talk about his sacrifice and the friendship that grew from it.
David Landes was the lucky recipient of Henderson’s liver — a third of it, at least. After living with liver disease for almost 20 years, his situation became dire. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Landes sent out an email asking for a living donor.
The timing was just right. Henderson was in nursing school at the time, learning about the liver. Specifically, he was learning about how the liver is rejuvenating — a chunk of it will grow back to full-size under the right conditions. So, he could donate a fraction of his liver and it would grow back. Landes could take a fraction of his liver and it would grow into a new full, healthy organ.
“It’s an incredible internal organ,” Henderson told the Today Show.
Just a month after the two men met, they went under the knife. That was in 2016. Every year since, on Landes’s “second birthday,” they celebrate. They tried to climb the Grand one year, but were snowed out.
Both Henderson and Landes were guests on The Today Show last week. See the full story here.
