Nurse Gets New Heart and Liver, Inspires Organ Donation

Roy Dell spent 20 years saving lives in emergency rooms, never imagining he'd be the one fighting to survive.

The Niagara Falls nurse was working a normal shift at Joseph Brant Hospital in September 2023 when he started experiencing shortness of breath. He'd been passing out at work for weeks, assuming it was just low blood sugar. A quick checkup revealed the truth: his heart was failing.

Dell was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, a super rare condition where protein produced in the liver builds up in the heart. Most patients don't know they have it until their heart stops working. "It's scary. I thought I was going to die a couple times," Dell said.

By December 2023, paramedics rushed him to the cardiac intensive care unit where he spent nearly two weeks. His wife Mary, also a registered nurse, watched her healthy, active husband suddenly need round-the-clock care. "He wasn't a sickly man," she said. "It was very random."

Testing revealed Dell's heart was too damaged to recover. He needed both a heart transplant and a new liver to stop the protein buildup. In 2023, only four people in Canada received both organs. Dell knew his odds were slim.

He was placed on the transplant waiting list in August 2024. Just four months later, two weeks before Christmas, he got the call. Donated organs were available. The surgery happened in December 2024, giving Dell a second chance at life.

The Ripple Effect

Dell's story is already saving lives beyond his own. His damaged liver was still healthy enough to help another patient in need. Meanwhile, Mary says friends and family members are registering as organ donors after hearing what happened.

One friend's husband recently passed away and chose to donate his organs, telling Mary it was "directly related to Roy's story." When transplants happen to someone you know, the importance becomes real.

Dell and Mary are now advocating for changes to organ donation laws. They believe people should automatically be registered as donors unless they opt out, rather than requiring people to sign up. Far too many Canadians are still waiting months or years for organs that could save their lives.

People can register to donate at beadonor.ca or when filing taxes in April, which is National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month.

Dell doesn't know whose heart now beats in his chest, but he knows those donors gave him everything: more time with Mary, more holidays with family, and more chances to help others understand why donation matters.