Mother Donates A Piece Of Her Liver To Save Her Baby

SEATTLE CHILDREN'S

Credit: Seattle Children's.      Olivia Alva with her mom and dad.

Newswise — Patricia Alva knew, even before her baby girl was born, that something was wrong. When she was pregnant, doctors detected a cyst on the baby’s stomach during an ultrasound.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Alva.

After she was born, doctors diagnosed baby Olivia with biliary atresia, a rare disease of the liver. It occurs when a baby’s bile ducts do not form normally. It occurs in about 1 in every 15,000 babies.

At only 2 weeks old, Olivia underwent surgery to remove the cyst. Unfortunately, it was only a temporary solution. Doctors knew she’d need a new liver one day.

“It’s a condition we knew would progress,” said Dr. Patrick Healey, division chief of Transplantation at Seattle Children’s. “Biliary atresia is the most common reason for liver transplants in children and accounts for nearly half of the transplants we perform.”

The first year of life for Olivia was hard. She wasn’t gaining weight and her liver was failing slowly.

“I just wanted her to have a normal life,” said Alva. “I didn’t want her to have to wait for a new liver.” Continue reading

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