In 2015, former NPL player Ante Kelic received a life-saving liver transplant. Now, he represents his country in football – and is experiencing “life for the beauty it is.” This is his story.
Ante Kelic was 10 minutes away from a life-changing liver transplant when he was told by doctors the operation was not going ahead.
His partner Kaya was pregnant with their first child at the time. Kelic left the hospital fearing for his immediate future, and its unpredictable nature.
“I was on the list for another four months,” Kelic said. “Those four months were the most mentally difficult. Every day I was thinking: ‘Am I going to get the call again?’ I could feel my body deteriorating in health, a lot more lethargic and tired.
“I think the mental aspect of it, and the waiting, was the hardest component… I knew with my health deteriorating and the date of arrival for our daughter approaching, that I wanted to be there. I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to be a dad for the first time, which we’d been trying for a long time.
“Having the four months between the dummy run, when the organ wasn’t suitable for me, and then the actual call the second time, it was approached with a little bit of apprehension knowing what happened the first time.”
The phone call came in early February, 2015. Another donor had been found, and this time around – despite his apprehension – the transplant would be a resounding success.
Kelic will be forever grateful for the generosity of his donor, who has allowed him “to experience eight extra years of life, see two children be born, travel around the world and Australia, (and) to experience life for the beauty it is, and to appreciate the simple things.”
From a young age, Kelic hoped to make a future out of football. Brother of National Soccer League great Ivan Kelic, Ante grew up a defender before making the switch to become an out-and-out striker, just like his brother.
But liver disease impacted any hope of becoming a professional: “I had (a) condition called Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC),” Kelic explained, “which is a narrowing of the bile ducts which eventually causes sclerosis of the liver. After 17 years of having that condition, I needed a transplant.
“I’ve played football all my life… the Croatian community in general, that’s where we found our friends, at the local soccer clubs every week, watching the seniors and at half-time jumping the fence to have a kick.
“I had aspirations to be a football player. But with the complexity of health issues I experienced from that age, it made it a little bit difficult to try and make it into a career.”
Despite living with a combination of PSC and Crohn’s disease – a chronic bowel disorder – Kelic became a top striker in the Victorian Premier League (now NPL). What he once hoped to make his career out of has become “a great outlet” since his liver transplant, “to catch up with friends, having the ball at my feet.”
“I say to people I don’t generally like exercising unless I’ve got a ball at my feet.”
In 2022, Kelic was honoured to be selected to represent Australia at the inaugural Transplant World Cup. The event was to be held in Italy in August 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to its cancellation.
“It was really disappointing for everyone that that didn’t occur… we had all the players together and were really excited to be attending, not only to represent our country but to represent our donors.”
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“Since I’ve played soccer, it’s been an aspiration to represent (my) country,” Kelic said. “It’s a great honour in any sport, but the sport you love in football was really exciting.”
Kelic was selected as part of the playing squad for the Australian national team, coached by former A-Leagues veteran Josh Rose. Central Coast Mariners captain Danny Vukovic, whose son Harley is alive today because of a liver transplant, was an ambassador for the Australian side.
After the disappointment of 2020’s World Cup postponement, attention casts ahead to the next iteration of the tournament scheduled for 2024. Kelic is included in the 2022-player squad preparing for the inaugural event.
Every time he steps out to represent his nation, it hits home how fortunate he is to do so.
“Before each game we would get inside a huddle, and it would hit us in terms of what we were doing,” Kelic said. “When we went out onto the field we were playing for our donors, because of the sacrifices they made to offer that gift to somebody else. Not only them but the donor’s family. Because they are the ones who have honoured the gift of their loved ones in the time of their grief.”
According to DonateLife, 1,800 Australians are currently waitlisted for an organ transplant. An additional 14,000 are on dialysis and may need a kidney transplant.
Becoming an organ donor takes less than 60 seconds. BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR TODAY
