Lottery winner knows what to do with prize money

(FEBRUARY 11, 2019) Not everyone wins the lottery. But when you do, you have to make a big decision. What do you do with the prize money? It might be hard to choose.

It was easy for Victor Salazar. He lives in Salem. He recently won a lottery game. He will receive more than $45,000. He knew immediately what to do.

“My father needs a liver transplant and insurance won’t cover it,” Salazar says. “This money is going to help him pay for the transplant he needs.”

The liver is an organ in the middle of our bodies. It has many important jobs. For example, the liver makes bile. This is a liquid that helps digestion. The liver also makes and stores glucose. That is a sugar that our bodies use for energy. The liver removes wastes from our blood.

A liver transplant can save lives. Doctors remove the old liver. They replace it with a new liver. The new liver comes from a living person or someone who recently died.

There were about 7,200 liver transplants in the U.S. in 2014. About 330 livers came from living donors. Nearly 15,000 people were still waiting for a liver transplant at that time.

Oregon citizens voted to create the lottery in 1984. The Oregon Lottery earns a lot of money for the state -- over $11 billion ($11,000,000,000) since 1985. That means it is the second largest source of money for the state budget. Only personal income tax bring in more money. The money is used for many things. These include state parks, the environment, schools, and services for veterans.