A seven-month-old baby is in “desperate” need of a liver transplant in Toronto, but with her parents incompatible and extended family far away in Bangladesh, all she can do is wait for her name to reach the top of the donor list or hope for a living match.
“We have been on the list for almost four months now and the doctor said it is completely uncertain. They say babies are a priority but they will not tell us how many are above us or what our position is. We don't have any idea of how long we will have to wait,” Aliza’s mother Preetha Haque told CTV News Toronto.
Ontario Health says wait times are based on a variety of factors, including blood type, the patient’s health, and organ type. Their data indicates 235 people of all ages in the province are waiting for a liver transplant.
Aliza’s medical team suggested trying to find a living donor, a healthy person who gives a piece of their liver to a patient in need, since it can speed up the search. The University Health Network has completed nearly 900 of these transplants since 2000.
But so far, the potential living donors who have come forward are not a match for Aliza’s O +/- blood type.
“Last week we heard from the hospital. There are no other applicants for Aliza, so we got more upset,” Aliza’s father Moniruzzaman Moni said.
Uncertainty has filled the hearts of Aliza’s parents since she was two months old. She was born with jaundice, a common yellow discoloration among newborns, but blood test results proved Aliza’s condition was far from common.
“The doctor called us back and said visit my office immediately and get prepared, you might need to go to the hospital,” Haque said as she wept, struggling to get words out.
They learned Aliza had Biliary Atresia, a rare liver disease that blocks the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder, and she needed a transplant.
Aliza playing with a toy in her high chair. “We need to look for a donor from outside our family because we don't have any family here and we can’t bring a donor from Bangladesh because it's very expensive,” Haque said after her and Moni learned they were not compatible matches.
After they placed Aliza on the donor list, they returned home, but it wasn’t long before they were back at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Aliza could not digest food, but when they gave her a feeding tube, her liver was growing too big and supressing her stomach, causing vomiting and dehydration.
Since then, Aliza and Haque have been living at the hospital for more than two months while Moni takes care of their seven-year-old daughter at home. After recovering from contracting RSV, Aliza has reached a stable state with the assistance of daily nutritional IV fluids.
Aliza at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. But time is proving critical. Haque said doctors have told her that Aliza needs the transplant before she reaches the age of two.
“She is almost one-year-old now and the doctor says that she doesn't have liver failure symptoms but if she has any the progress will be too fast to control,” Haque said.
“She is stable now, she grows well, she has enough weight and it’s the right age to support the transplant. This is the perfect time for her to get a transplant. Only if we can manage [finding] the liver.”
Canada's health care system is not working as well as it should and that has to change, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday as he prepared to meet the premiers to work on a new health-care funding deal.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
China said Tuesday it will 'resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, as relations between the two countries deteriorate further. The balloon prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a highly-anticipated visit to Beijing this week that had offered slight hopes for an improvement in relations.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
John Benoit of West Jeddore, N.S., says he has been beachcombing for over 50 years, but his most recent discovery -- a Killick anchor -- is by far his most memorable.
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
A 16-year-old boy has died after being struck by a snow clearing truck in the parking lot of Les Galeries Laval shopping mall on Monday night.
As the search continues for survivors, people in Quebec's Turkish community are doing what they can to help.
An elderly man is dead after a house fire in the small town of Saint-Philippe, about 30 kilometres south of Montreal. Roussillon police confirmed that the fire started around 8 p.m. in a home on Saint-Andre Road.
The public is asked to avoid a section of Highbury Avenue after a vehicle collision downed powerlines in the area.
An aggressive plan to address London, Ont.’s housing crisis has been unveiled by city hall, but meeting the construction targets will require doing things differently.
Canada's health care system is not working as well as it should and that has to change, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday as he prepared to meet the premiers to work on a new health-care funding deal.
Google says on Monday notifications were sent to employees affected by the recently announced job cuts.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Wellington County are investigating a fatal two-vehicle collision in the Township of Wellington North.
A 44-year-old Woolwich, Ont., man has been arrested for allegedly making death threats against a member of parliament.
Netflix users who have been sharing their passwords with friends and family members who live hundreds – or even thousands – of kilometres away won’t be able to do so for much longer, as the streaming service announced its plans to end password sharing.
A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher 'until she couldn't breathe,' according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Homeowners and employees have been left reeling after an Orléans construction company suddenly closed its doors, walking away from half-built houses and projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
An Ottawa family fled a fire in their home Saturday barefoot and in their pyjamas, suffering frostbite in the bitter cold. They're now waiting for it to be safe to return and assess the damage.
Two people have died in a serious single-vehicle crash in Kingsville, a third person was injured and transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A city committee unanimously endorsed re-zoning lands for a massive proposed housing development in central Windsor Monday night.
Windsor police are looking for a female suspect after a trumpet theft at a Walker Road business.
A 20-year-old female has been arrested for attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a Barrie police officer late Sunday night.
After a three-month-long investigation, a 69-year-old man was arrested on Feb. 2.
Environment Canada expects to see freezing rain early this morning.
Hundreds of Nova Scotians are still without power on Monday following frigid temperatures and high winds over the weekend.
A Cape Breton councillor feels with a 14 per cent increase now granted to Nova Scotia Power and millions of dollars in profits annually, residents shouldn't be paying out hundreds of dollars to operate a generator to keep the lights on.
While relatively short-lived, the blast of Arctic air in the Maritimes was enough to break some long-standing low temperature records for all three Maritime provinces for both Friday and Saturday.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
Calgarians at home and abroad are reeling in the wake of a massive earthquake that struck a war-torn region near the border of Turkiye and Syria.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
The province is building an interchange at St Mary's Road and the South Perimeter to help traffic flow better, but some drivers who live in the area aren't happy with how speed limits are being enforced in a portion of this construction zone.
The Winnipeg Police Service said it has linked two recent homicides in the city, with officers alleging the incidents were not random.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
There’s so much demand for Vancouver’s mental health emergency teams that people can be left waiting days, and sometimes teams never make it to requests for service at all. It’s hoped a funding boost to hire more staff will increase capacity of the service.
A dog named Kujo will be euthanized after a B.C. judge determined the animal is "likely to kill or injure" if released from the pound.
For more than two years, Canada’s premiers have been asking for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss a new healthcare funding model – and on Tuesday the group will finally get two hours of face time in Ottawa.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
After using Alberta's education curriculum since the 1950s, the Northwest Territories has outlined the timeline it will use to pivot toward British Columbia's program of studies.
