- Pierce, NE resident Dale Steele was born in Ainsworth, NE
- Steele was married for 72 years and served in WWII
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Dale Steele, a World War II veteran born in Ainsworth, Nebraska, has become the oldest organ donor in United States history after donating his liver through Live On Nebraska, an Omaha-based organ procurement organization.
Steele's son, Roger, said he was stunned when the organization first mentioned his father's potential donation.
"We'd like your dad to donate his liver and when she said that I said he's over 100 years old," Roger Steele said.
Dale Steele lived a life defined by hard work and service. Roger shared stories of his father serving in World War II, liberating concentration camps and standing guard during the Nuremberg Trials.
"He was a gentleman in the full sense of the word," Roger Steele said.
Roger credited his father's longevity in part to a lifestyle rooted in physical labor and homegrown food.
"He came from an age when people worked very hard and I think that's a substitute for fitness as we define it today," Roger Steele said.
Dale worked in Nebraska agriculture his entire life and his family regularly ate vegetables from his garden.
Live On Nebraska says donor age matters far less than overall health, pointing to the liver's unique ability to regenerate cells throughout a person's entire life.
Dr. Lee Morrow, chief medical officer at Live On Nebraska, explained that constant cell renewal means a donor's liver is effectively only a few years old, regardless of the person's age.
"Your liver is about 3 years old, my liver is about 3 years old and that 100 year old donor, his liver was about 3 years old," Morrow said.
Morrow said organ procurement organizations have used warm blood perfusion on donated kidneys for years, but only recently began applying the technique to other organs, including livers. That advancement has helped expand the pool of viable donors.
"You go back in time just a few years ago we weren't really doing organ donors over 65," Morrow said.
Dale suffered a head injury in February and was placed on life support. Morrow noted that donation following that type of circumstance is especially difficult to carry out successfully, and that the second oldest donor in U.S. history was already brain dead when the procedure took place. That donor was 98.
The transplant was a success. The Steele family has not yet been contacted by the recipient but was told the person was able to go home just 5 days after the procedure.
The experience changed Roger's perspective on organ donation — he said he plans to sign up himself. If you want to register as an organ donor, you can follow this link to Live On Nebraska.
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