There is a man living in Russia who got a new liver from a black donor. He is now claiming that his skin turned black because of it! Semen Gendler, 65, had been diagnosed with hepatitis C and liver cancer – so when a liver donor was found, he flew to the United States to have the procedure done. Gendler was told by his doctors that if he didn’t get the transplant, he would die, luckily, he had some contacts in the U.S. that helped make the operation happen.
Gendler could even afford the $500,000 procedure. Gendler came to the U.S. because he felt the wait for a donor would be too long if he stayed in Russia. A former colleague of Gendler, Igor Atamenenko, was the one who noticed that Gendler’s skin looked darker. Gendler thinks that the change in skin color is fine – he is alive after all! Doctors have no reasonable explanation for the color change!
Take a look at these images
Image Credit: N/A
But, just to be clear, dark skin is not caused by the liver! Your skin color is a matter of genetics. You can get darker skin by going outside and tanning or by being exposed to UV radiation. Maybe Gendler was exposed to more UV radiation during his stay in the U.S., and that is why his skin got darker.
The compound responsible for the color of your skin is called Melanin, and it is produced by melanocytes. As a scientist and a skeptic – I think Gendler’s skin color change and the liver transplant are just coincidence. Share away, people.