Former MLB pitcher Steven Register finds liver donor in high-school classmate he hadnt seen in 20 years

A man’s Facebook plea for a liver donor attracted the attention of a high-school acquaintance he hadn’t spoken to in 20 years.In April 2024, after experiencing appetite loss and losing 15 pounds in a month, Steven Register, 42, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, according to news agency SWNS.Doctors told the former MLB pitcher — who played for the Colorado Rockies in 2008 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 — that a liver transplant was likely his best chance of survival.“When we first met with the doctors, they gave me a year to a year-and-a-half to live,” Register said, adding that he and his wife, Beth, immediately started researching options.The couple traveled from Auburn, Alabama, to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where Register underwent surgery for a temporary ostomy bag and began chemotherapy, per the SWNS report.Plans for the liver resection were canceled when doctors discovered the tumors were too large, which led the couple to consider a transplant.Register’s wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor, hoping someone would come forward in time.Kristin Johnston, a 40-year-old preschool teacher from Roswell, Georgia, saw the post and recognized Register as a former high-school classmate.The two had met in 1999 at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia, but hadn’t spoken in over two decades.“It was just so far out of left field,” said Register, who couldn’t believe it when Johnston volunteered to donate part of her liver.He added to SWNS, “I haven’t seen or talked to her in over 20 years, and for her to reach out like that, it was just meant to be.”Johnston said she started by doing a quick online search for live liver donation and discovered that blood type compatibility was the first step.“I just sent him a message,” she said.“I said, ‘Hey, what’s your blood type?’ and he said, ‘I’m B positive.'”She responded, “Wait, that’s mine, too,” and offered, “I’l...