Delfina Budziak’s family say responses have poured in from around the world, after they went public with an appeal for a liver donation that could save the 8-month-old girl’s life.
The Budziak family was overwhelmed by responses coming in from places such as the U.S., Canada, Sweden and members of the Canadian Forces, they said in a statement on Friday, thanking the more than 900 people who have answered their appeal.
Delfina’s mother, Betsy, said Friday that she was touched by the outpouring of kindness.
“Thank you is an understatement,” Betsy told CP24. “It really hit our hearts. We never expected this much of a huge outpour from virtual strangers.”
Delfina Budziak was just two months old when she was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare disease that affects the liver due to the accumulation of bile, according to the Canadian Liver Foundation. If the flow of bile is not re-established, it can lead to liver failure. Children with the disease rarely survive beyond two years of age, the foundation says.
Delfina has undergone several procedures, but on April 26, a day after her baptism, she suffered an infection. She is stable and on medication at the Hospital for Sick Children, but that means she isn't high on the waiting list for a liver transplant.
The family has set up a Facebook page and email for anyone who hopes to help their daughter. The donor must be blood type O+ and between 18 and 55 years of age. People can also help by signing up for Toronto’s University Health Network Living Donor Program.
“By all means, we want to help Delfina, our daughter,”Amores-Budziak said, “but also not just Delfina. All the other kids and even adults who are in need of a liver.”
More information on living organ donation can be found online.
