Family of 20-month-old boy gets to thank his living liver donor
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There was an emotional reunion of sorts at Pittsburgh's UPMC Montefiore Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
Twenty-month-old Logan Salva recently had a liver transplant. His mom and dad had a chance to thank the woman whose live liver donation saved their child's life.
It basically comes down to this: a little boy in Florida who desperately needed a life-saving liver transplant and there was a nurse in Erie, Pennsylvania who was a match. It all came together with a successful result right here in Pittsburgh.
Coming up on his second birthday, Logan Salva is looking pretty good considering what his short life has handed him so far.
"It's incredible the change we saw in him physically, just with his appearance and complexion and everything," said Logan's mom Rasika Marletto-Salva.
Logan whose family lives in Ocala, Florida was in need of a liver transplant. His condition was a form of liver disease.
"It's called alagille," said Dr. George Mazariegos, the chief of pediatric transplantation at Children's Hospital. "What is happening in this particular disease is that the bile ducts, which are part of the channels that drain the bile out of the liver, don't form normally."
It's deadly if not treated correctly. A donor was needed and that's where Makenzie Beach comes into the picture.
"It is emotional. I feel like I was part of a miracle," said Beach, who is also a nurse with UPMC in Erie. She donated part of her liver.
"I've had a lot of blessings in my life and this was a way for me to give back," she said.
The transplant operation that took place in June of this year was a complete success.
"His recovery I know that it wouldn't have been as incredible as it's been if it wasn't for the fact that he had you to help him. And again, thank you so much," Marletto-Salva said.
As for the little man's prognosis?
"His liver disease is cured. One of the great things about pediatric transplant is that the liver disease does not come back.
Mazariegos said.
