A Gift Of Hope

In 2015, college student Kris Chung donated part of his liver to save the life of a toddler he'd never met - and gained an unexpected reward for his sacrifice.

- Lauren Mckeon

FROM THE MOMENT Johanne and Michael Wagner met their daughters in November 2012, they feared the girls would die. At 18 months and barely four kilograms each, the Vietnamese twins they’d adopted were clearly very sick. After holding them, Johanne and Michael wandered the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, devastated. They bought matching red and black jars: one to hold Binh’s ashes and one to hold Phuoc’s. They wanted to show their new daughters love, but worried there wasn’t much time.

Soon after the Wagners returned home to Kingston, Ont., with the twins, genetic testing confirmed that both girls had Alagille syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes bile to build up in the liver, severely reducing the organ’s ability to eliminate waste from the bloodstream. By December 2014, Binh and Phuoc desperately needed liver transplants.

While Johanne and Michael were waiting to discover if either or both of them would be a match, they launched a Facebook campaign to search for donors. In January, Michael, a major with the Canadian Armed Forces, learned he could donate—but only to one child. (While part of the liver is donated and will grow back, a person can safely undergo the procedure only once.) Doctors decided Michael’s liver would go to Phuoc, who needed it more urgently.

After the Wagners posted the bittersweet news on their Facebook page, the campaign went viral. Though the couple insisted they weren’t forced to choose between daughters, relying instead on their doctors’ advice, their situation struck many as a medical Sophie’s Choice. Hundreds of potential donors filled out applications. In February 2015, Michael donated to Phuoc, and in April the Toronto General Hospital chose an anonymous donor for Binh.