Cameron Campbell recently became the first pediatric patient to receive a living donor liver transplant at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Cameron's mother, Krissy Campbell, gave her 14-month-old son a portion of her liver, which the transplant team used to cure his rare condition.
After waiting nearly 11 months on the liver transplant list, the Campbells came to Monroe Carell in the fall of 2023 once they learned that the hospital offered living donor liver transplantation as a surgical option.
The shortage of solid organs has long been an issue for those seeking lifesaving transplants. Typically, children under the age of 2 are most impacted by the low availability. Living donor liver transplantation has helped address this issue.
“Most people know that we have two kidneys and can live with just one,” said Saeed Mohammad, MD, MS, associate professor of Pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Center and Liver Transplantation at Monroe Carell. “What many don’t realize is that you can donate a portion of your liver and it will regenerate. You can literally save a life by donating a piece of your liver.
“We are the only program in the state doing living donor liver for pediatrics right now,” he said.
Learn more about the life-saving surgery in this article from VUMC News. And encourage your employees to sign up to be an organ donor this April to commemorate Donate Life Month.
