Complex liver transplant saves 2 lives with a single organ donation

Texas baby recovering after complex liver transplant

Two Texas families are thankful for the gift of life this Christmas season. Thanks to a single organ donation, both a 3-year-old girl and a 53-year-old woman have new livers.

DALLAS - A 3-year-old from West Texas is celebrating her first healthy Christmas at home thanks to a liver transplant. The highly complex procedure saved the lives of two people.

Luna's Story

The backstory:

Luna Sifuentes was diagnosed with biliary atresia when she was just two months old. Her parents grew concerned about her jaundice and then gray-colored stool.

She underwent a special procedure, but due to the late diagnosis, her liver had already sustained too much damage.

At just 6 months old, Luna was diagnosed with end-stage liver failure and placed on the transplant list.

Finding a liver small enough for a baby can be extremely difficult. So, Luna’s family was elated to get a call last November about a liver from an adult donor that could save her life. 

A 53-year-old woman from Garland received the same life-saving call. The highly complex liver transplant took a single adult liver and made it usable for both patients.

What they're saying:

"We are just grateful that they made that sacrifice to not only save my baby but another person," Luna’s mother Ashtin Sifuentes said. "We never thought Luna would make it that far. And I just want them to know that she gets to hit these milestones that we never thought would be possible and that we’re grateful. She gets to be a big sister and gets to live her life just like other 3-year-olds."

"I don’t think it will truly hit me until I get to thank the family of the person who donated it," added Rachel, who received the other half of the liver. "It’s pretty great. Two lives were saved because one was kind enough to donate their liver."

Both families have reached out to the donor’s family in hopes of one day being able to say thanks.

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What's next:

Dr. Yong Kwon, a pediatric surgeon with Children’s Health, said the outlook for Luna is good. If all goes well, she’ll have this liver for the rest of her life.

That’s because the liver is one of the few organs that does not age. It can regenerate, and that’s what makes an adult liver still a good option for a young child.

What you can do:

Luna’s family and her doctors hope her story inspires others to check the box to become an organ donor.

More than 100,000 people are on the wait list right now for life-saving organ transplants, and thousands die every day still waiting.