ORLANDO, Fla. — According to AdventHealth, a four-year-old boy is alive because of a breakthrough liver transplant through AdventHealth’s new living donor liver transplant program. Officials say a 23-year-old woman — who had never met the child — volunteered to donate part of her liver after seeing his story on Facebook.
“Knowing that I was able to help, not only him but (also) his family is really a blessing,” said donor, Sophie Byroade. “I guess, technically, I gave him the gift of life and it’s just kind of surreal that I did that. It’s very cool! And the staff (at AdventHealth Transplant Institute) is amazing. If I were to do this again, I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
The procedure happened at the AdventHealth Transplant Institute in Orlando.
Hospital officials said the surgery marks the first living donor liver transplant performed through the new program.
AdventHealth said living donor transplantation allows patients to receive a transplant sooner rather than waiting for a deceased donor organ. This expands access to lifesaving, whole-person care for patients across Central Florida and throughout the state.
Officials say during a living donor transplant, surgeons remove a portion of a healthy donor’s liver and transplant it into the recipient. The liver regenerates, allowing both the donor’s and recipient’s livers to grow back to full size within weeks
Click here to learn more about becoming a living liver donor or to refer a patient.
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