When Eden was diagnosed with a rare liver disease at two months old, her Missouri family put out a call on Facebook to find a donor.
Then, nearly 1,000 miles away, I found a partner in a distant relative I was in a relationship with.
rear Operation “Miracle”the 7-month-old girl is currentlyher life is about to begin” her family said.
At just two weeks old, Eden Hernandez was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a “rare and life-threatening” liver disease, which led to her first of many emergency room visits, St. Louis Children’s Hospital said in a news release. Shared with.
Her condition deteriorated because she did not gain enough weight, and her eyes turned yellow due to jaundice. She was placed on the waiting list for her transplant, but her parents began searching for a living donor for her on Facebook.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who called and got tested,” Sara Hernandez wrote. “The power of social media is amazing!!”
Only about 6% of the total The liver was donated by a living donor. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, 2021 was a year in which a record number of liver transplants were performed.
One of Hernandez’s posts reached Nadia Hussein, who is married to the baby’s father’s cousin. They found out she was a match, and the mother of three, who lives in New Jersey, decided to fly to St. Louis to donate part of her liver.
“Within a week of expressing interest, being a donor, I had already undergone tests to undergo this surgery,” she posted on Facebook. “And two weeks after her parents Sarah and Kevin first posted that they were looking for a living donor, Eden and I were having surgery.”
On January 18th, the two I went into surgery The family said they wanted to give the 6-month-old girl a “second chance at life.”
According to St. Louis Children’s Hospital, this is the first living liver donation in St. Louis in 10 years.
“Eden’s new liver will grow as she grows up and experiences a childhood her parents thought she would never have, and Nadia’s liver will take over the next year to grow back to normal size. will regenerate,” the hospital wrote.
Her family expressed their gratitude to all the doctors who worked to help Hussein and her family. Hussain said her journey and recovery have been worth the effort.
“She is healthy, vibrant, alive and ready for the future,” Hussein wrote. “This experience was life-saving for her and life-changing for me. I am grateful every day that I was able to do this. All the photos, videos, and updates of her growth and flourishing are available on my It is a gift that fills the heart beyond measure.”
After 55 days and nights At the hospital, the family returned home. They continued to update the community about their daughter’s recovery.
“These are the moments we were in was scary” her family wrote. “These are milestones that we are able to see thanks to the generosity of living donors. I’ll never forget it.”
As of February 21, 2024, 9,883 people waiting for liver transplantAccording to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.
“Eden is like brand new baby” her family wrote on Facebook. “Like Kevin (her father) said, it’s like the fog has lifted inside her and she’s starting to see the world really clearly. She’s smiling so much now! I can’t help but wonder what she’s like without her liver disease. I can’t wait to see what happens.”
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