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  • 2 days ago
This is the emotional moment a mom is reunited with her seven-month-old son after donating part of her liver to save his life. Within a few days of baby Luka Moss being born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he began showing signs of having high bilirubin levels, which can manifest into jaundice. His condition didn't improve, and further testing through an ultrasound showed there were no signs of a gallbladder or connective bile ducts between the liver and intestines. Luka, whose skin was yellow, was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a rare liver disease, and was required to have Kasai surgery to connect the small intestine to the liver as a replacement for the missing bile ducts. His mom Ashlynn said Kasai procedures have a 50 percent success rate, and after the surgery, Luka's condition improved but his skin continued to get more yellow. This led to the youngster being listed for a liver transplant, and though dad Hayden tested, his body mass meant he could not be a match. With Luka's condition worsening, the family received some crushing news when they were told a liver had been found, only for flight delays and complications to mean the organ was no longer usable. Ashlynn said she knew she had to be the "bravest scared mom she could have been," and so doctors rushed through her donor testing, which led to her being deemed a perfect match for Luka.
Transcript
00:00As his disease progressed and I saw how truly sick he was getting, I was desperate and I did
00:06not care what it took to save him. After Luca was born, he appeared healthy, but they noticed that
00:14his jaundice levels were higher than expected. The ultrasound showed that he was missing his
00:20gallbladder and some of the biliary ducts. He went downhill very quickly. Those seven months
00:26before his transplant, he got very sick. He was very yellow. When we had a deceased liver
00:32donor offer and then it fell through, that's when I knew and had full clarity that it was
00:39going to be me who was donating my liver. The day of operation, I was actually excited that
00:45morning to go in and just get it done. I just wanted him to feel better. I wanted to see
00:51him on the other side of transplant. That moment that I walked in to see Luca was so surreal.
00:59It was out of body to know what we had both just been through and that he was on his
01:05way
01:05to recovery and doing well. It was a very sacred moment. Very emotional.
01:11Luca's current state is he's healthy. He's hitting his milestones as a toddler.
01:16I just want him to know how unconditionally loved he is and how there were no questions that
01:23I would do something for him or any of my children again if I needed to.
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