Liver For Natalia 2nd campaign
Donation protected
Thank you everyone who contributed in Natalia’s first campaign!!! We were able to collect $15,000 and we are now closer to our $75k goal. Please consider donating for this one as well and spread the word we can’t do this without your help and support!
Natalia’s Team
All donations are in US dollars
Thank you.
“Natalia is a fearless baby and every day she is fighting for her life… however, time’s running out and we don’t have the money for a liver transplant”
-Alma Rosa, Natalia’s mom
Hi, my name is Natalia Zambrano Magaña. I’m 17 months old and I was born in Guadalajara on November 28, 2018. I have liver cirrhosis secondary to a disease called biliary atresia (I was born without bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to my bowels) which I was diagnosed with when I was 3 months old. There is a surgery to fix this called Kasai portoenterostomy, where liver bile ducts are reconnected to the bowel. However, I was not a candidate for this procedure as my liver was already cirrhotic when they looked into my abdomen with a camera. The doctor spoke with my parents and explained to them that I wouldn’t survive without a liver transplant.The hospital where I got my diagnosis does not have the expertise to perform a transplant on little babies like me. My parents reached out to different hospitals in Mexico asking for help without success. Finally, with the help of my relatives in Utah, United States, we found out about Dr. Manuel Rodriguez Davalos who has helped us since that day. We got to meet Dr. Rodriguez in person on April 2019, when he traveled to Guadalajara to help other children with liver disease. On July 2019, my mom took me to Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah to my first clinic appointment with Dr. Rodriguez and his team. Dr. Rodriguez is the surgical director of the liver transplant unit at Primary Children’s Hospital, where more than 250 liver transplants have been performed in children, most of them with the same disease as mine. After my appointment in Utah, we returned to Mexico hoping to find a foundation that could help us with the surgery costs. Dr. Rodriguez traveled a few times to Mexico to schedule follow up visits for me and other patients he has already helped with a transplant. Unfortunately, I have not secured enough funding for my surgery yet, and my liver function keeps declining. I’ve been hospitalized in Guadalajara in different occasions due to decompensation of my liver disease. My skin has a yellow color (jaundice), I have intense itchiness (pruritis) that keeps me up at night and the constant scratching is now causing scarring of my skin. This March we came back to Utah for a follow up visit and we were told that my laboratory tests have worsened, and my liver disease is causing my growth to be lower than expected. Without a liver transplant, my current life expectancy is 2-6 months. My dad and my older sister Julia are waiting for us in Mexico, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to see them again. We remain hopeful, as Dr. Rodriguez has explained to us that the surgery I need (liver transplant) is performed routinely at Primary Children’s Hospital, and children that receive a liver go on to live for decades after the surgery. The liver transplant will be performed at Primary Children’s Hospital by Dr. Manuel Rodriguez-Davalos. He, along with his liver transplant team at Primary Children’s have the required expertise to take care of children with my disease. Dr. Rodriguez has committed himself to find a liver for me and he has pledged to perform this surgery pro bono. However, we still need to collect enough money to cover hospital related costs.
Thank you.
“Natalia is a fearless baby and every day she is fighting for her life… however, time’s running out and we don’t have the money for a liver transplant”
-Alma Rosa, Natalia’s mom
Hi, my name is Natalia Zambrano Magaña. I’m 17 months old and I was born in Guadalajara on November 28, 2018. I have liver cirrhosis secondary to a disease called biliary atresia (I was born without bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to my bowels) which I was diagnosed with when I was 3 months old. There is a surgery to fix this called Kasai portoenterostomy, where liver bile ducts are reconnected to the bowel. However, I was not a candidate for this procedure as my liver was already cirrhotic when they looked into my abdomen with a camera. The doctor spoke with my parents and explained to them that I wouldn’t survive without a liver transplant.The hospital where I got my diagnosis does not have the expertise to perform a transplant on little babies like me. My parents reached out to different hospitals in Mexico asking for help without success. Finally, with the help of my relatives in Utah, United States, we found out about Dr. Manuel Rodriguez Davalos who has helped us since that day. We got to meet Dr. Rodriguez in person on April 2019, when he traveled to Guadalajara to help other children with liver disease. On July 2019, my mom took me to Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah to my first clinic appointment with Dr. Rodriguez and his team. Dr. Rodriguez is the surgical director of the liver transplant unit at Primary Children’s Hospital, where more than 250 liver transplants have been performed in children, most of them with the same disease as mine. After my appointment in Utah, we returned to Mexico hoping to find a foundation that could help us with the surgery costs. Dr. Rodriguez traveled a few times to Mexico to schedule follow up visits for me and other patients he has already helped with a transplant. Unfortunately, I have not secured enough funding for my surgery yet, and my liver function keeps declining. I’ve been hospitalized in Guadalajara in different occasions due to decompensation of my liver disease. My skin has a yellow color (jaundice), I have intense itchiness (pruritis) that keeps me up at night and the constant scratching is now causing scarring of my skin. This March we came back to Utah for a follow up visit and we were told that my laboratory tests have worsened, and my liver disease is causing my growth to be lower than expected. Without a liver transplant, my current life expectancy is 2-6 months. My dad and my older sister Julia are waiting for us in Mexico, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to see them again. We remain hopeful, as Dr. Rodriguez has explained to us that the surgery I need (liver transplant) is performed routinely at Primary Children’s Hospital, and children that receive a liver go on to live for decades after the surgery. The liver transplant will be performed at Primary Children’s Hospital by Dr. Manuel Rodriguez-Davalos. He, along with his liver transplant team at Primary Children’s have the required expertise to take care of children with my disease. Dr. Rodriguez has committed himself to find a liver for me and he has pledged to perform this surgery pro bono. However, we still need to collect enough money to cover hospital related costs.
Organizer
Ale Sierra
Organizer
San Antonio, TX
