Dad releases shocking image of his sick daughter’s rotten liver to encourage people to become organ donors
Allie Driva's diseased liver was coloured black when it was removed from her tiny body in July last year
A DAD has released the shocking photo of his baby daughter's rotten liver, in the hope that it will encourage people to become organ donors.
Allie Driva's diseased liver was black and resembled a lump of coal when it was removed from her tiny body in July last year.
The 18-month-old tot nearly died after suffering from biliary atresia - a condition where the bile ducts are blocked and the liver begins to fail.
The little girl was saved after receiving a live transplant from her devoted dad Ryan, 30.
Ryan, an accountant, said: "She'd been born with yellow skin and eyes. We initially thought it was jaundice, but quickly realised it was something more and it was then she was diagnosed with biliary artesia."
In April 2015 Allie underwent a procedure at Kaiser Medical Centre in Los Angeles, California, where a portion of her intestine was attached to her liver to help bile flow away from it, in a bid to cure the condition.
Sadly, this was unsuccessful and her condition rapidly deteriorated, with her stomach swelling.
Ryan, from Los Angeles, said: "She got much sicker, if you touched her stomach, you could feel her liver. It was rock-hard when it should have been soft.
"Doctors said she had a few months to get a transplant or she would die. It was terrifying. We were so scared and crying."
In June 2015 at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Allie was put on the liver transplant waiting list.
She was just five months old, when Ryan and Allie's mum, Analisa, 30, were given the devastating news that if Allie did not receive a transplant immediately she would die.
With time running out, the idea of a live transplant – using part of an organ, taken from a living donor – was suggested.
Blood tests revealed Ryan to be a match and in July last year he learnt he could donate part of his liver to his daughter.
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Ryan said: "It was fantastic news, finally there was hope."
On 31 July 2015 Ryan was taken for surgery at USC Tech Medical Center, in Los Angeles.
During a six-hour operation, surgeons took the left lobe from his liver and then put it on ice.
The liver was then driven to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, around two miles away, where it was transplanted into Allie.
Understandably, Analisa was frantic.
Ryan said: "It was a scary time for her but she was happy and optimistic we'd make a full recovery."
After the surgery, Ryan couldn't walk for a few days, as doctors had cut through his stomach muscles and they needed time to heal.
But when he was ready, the first thing he wanted to do was see his little girl.
He said: "When I saw her she was smiling, and I held her and it felt really good, she recovered so well and I saw the whites of her eyes for the first time and her skin was fair.”
Last summer, following the life-saving surgery, and then more recently, to mark the one-year anniversary of Allie's transplant, Ryan made the controversial choice to post photos of Allie's liver online.
The contrast between her blackened organ and his healthy, red liver is astonishing.
Ryan, also dad to Ava, five, said: "It is incredible to think she survived so long with such a sickly organ
"Learning that I could save my daughter was the happiest moment of my life.
"I would have done anything to save her."
He had not thought about becoming a living donor until medics suggested it – but when they did, he said it was an easy decision.
"I suppose you'd call it a no-brainer," he laughed.
"I shared the image of Allie's liver because I want people to become donors, so their organs don't go to waste when they die. People could be saving lives."
Allie, now 18-months old, is doing well.
"She's walking, talking and playful.
"It's great news – she's come so far."