KANSAS CITY — Angel Morillo had just gotten out of the hospital, and his wife was taking him home when the hospital called.
Morillo, who is a member of the LDS Church, just had tumors on his liver removed while he was waiting for a liver transplant.
"We didn't even make it home and they called," his wife, Lucia Morillo, said. Angel Morillos needed to be back to the hospital in a half hour to prepare for a transplant.
That was Friday afternoon.
The next morning, he was in surgery, and by that afternoon, he had a new liver.
There was more at work than just a donor and a recipient. Morillo was on the receiving end of a "domino" liver transplant, where he received a liver from someone who also received a liver from a deceased patient. It was one of the first in the Kansas City area, according to the Wichita Eagle.
The middle domino was Richard Gross, whose liver was afflicted with familial amylodosis, a rare but progressive disease where the liver doesn't process a protein correctly, the Wichita Eagle reported. The protein is deposited in organs, like the liver, and the protein accumulation causes a variety of problems, including nerve damage and organ failure.
Because it is a progressive disease, the liver could work 30 or 40 years in someone else before they would see any effects of the disease, the Eagle reported.
With Gross added to the transplant list and living in the Kansas City area, Morillo became a candidate to receive Gross' liver.
Days before the March 27 transplant surgery, Morillo had received a call from his doctor, who was meeting with other surgeons about the possibility of the domino transplant.
"I had to make a decision right then," Morillo said. "I didn't have time to think about it. I had to choose to live or die."
And unlike other transplants, he can thank his donor in person.
"That was a very interesting meeting," Morillo said. "When I walked into his room, I cried. I'm thankful for what he did."
He and Gross plan to keep in touch.
"I've had a lot of miracles in my liver," Morillo said.
Morillo, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, came to the United States in 1982 and settled in Memphis, Tenn. A friend from the Dominican Republic took him to a Mormon church there.
"They had to learn how to baptize me in Spanish," he said. He moved from Tennessee to Florida to Kansas. In 1993, he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, likely caused by a blood transfusion in the Dominican Republic, and doctors wanted to operate then.
"I was told I was going to die in six months," he said of the doctor's prognosis at the time.
During a trip to the Chicago Temple, he received a blessing in an annex building from his branch president telling him that he still had work to do.
Since then, he has served in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints, including seven years as the Kaw River Branch president and many years as an elders quorum president.
"He has one of the greatest hearts of anyone I have met," said Bishop Kraig Smith, the leader of the now Kaw River Ward. "He knows all of the people and loves them."
Several nights a week, he would be out visiting members of the branch.
"Another great thing about Brother Morillo is his perception ... his view of death," Bishop Smith said. "He knows we're here for a short time and we don't take that for granted."
Morillo was released as elders quorum president earlier this year due to his health issues.
Although he didn't miss any work, some days he would come home exhausted.
Now, Morillo says he feels so much better. And he's resting during his recovery but goes with the bishopric members to visit ward members.
The transplant "was a miracle," Morillo said. "I feel 100 percent better. Much, much better."
"It's all been a miracle," Lucia said.
e-mail: rappleye@desnews.com