A one-year-old toddler, Carissa Micanna Thomas from Bonteheuwel, is in desperate need of a liver transplant.
According to Athlone News, she suffers from biliary atresia, a condition in young children where the bile ducts outside and inside the liver are blocked. Bile can’t flow into the liver, so it builds up and damages the organ. This leads to scarring, resulting in loss of liver tissue, and ultimately liver failure.
Carissa’s mother, Cayle Thomas told News24 that her daughter suddenly stopped breathing when she was just three weeks old, and at four weeks old she had her first surgery to drain the liver. The operation was unsuccessful and Carissa had been in and out of hospitals ever since.
The little one has an O+ blood type. Her father, Rushin is a match, but his liver is too large, reports News24. The search continues for a 200g liver as Carissa is struggling to survive.
For more information, contact the Organ Donor Foundation toll-free on 0800 22 66 11 or visit www.odf.org.za
Picture: Facebook/Rushin Thomas