Help Arlen raise money

As you all know, our daughter Alaina was born with Biliary Atresia nearly 17 years ago.  It is a rare liver disease that caused scarring in her liver.  The cause is unknown and her only cure was a liver transplant.  After 15 months of failing to thrive, feeding tubes, and numerous liver infections, Alaina finally needed a new liver.  Instead of watching her wait possibly years on a transplant waiting list, I went through testing to see if I could be her donor.  Megan & I felt so blessed and grateful that my liver was a perfect match for Alaina. 

After researching many transplant facilities, we knew the only place we wanted Alaina to be was UPMC Children's Hospital.  They do more pediatric liver transplants than anyone in the world and their success rates are the best. Alaina was only 15 months old at the time of transplant.  It was a 12 hour surgery and I donated 1/3 of my liver to Alaina.   It was the most difficult time of our lives.  For me, it was an honor being the person to give her a new chance at life.  It was truly a miracle to see how her new liver immediately transformed Alaina.  Just one day after transplant, Alaina's skin was not as jaundice and the whites of her eyes were no longer yellow!  Two weeks later, her feeding tube was removed forever.  Alaina had a healthy liver and she was finally thriving! 

Here we are nearly 16 years since transplant and Alaina will be 17 years old on May 1st.  She is doing amazing!   She's had some ups and downs, including a major surgery in June 2017. All of her abdominal muscles had split open so she had a piece of mesh placed to hold her muscles together. She was so brave and handled the unexpected long recovery like a superhero.  But we are so grateful for the life she is able to live because of her transplant!   She is an active dancer and wants to pursue a career in nursing.  We are so proud of her! We will forever be grateful to her wonderful team of doctors and nurses at UPMC Children's Hospital! 

As for myself, it's been a difficult journey.  Being a liver donor, comes with complications and risks.  I have been through 8 surgeries since transplant from hernias, several obstructions (3 in the last few years) and an infection. In summer of 2021,  I went through a 9 hour abdominal reconstruction surgery where my entire mesh got replaced and my abdominal muscles got pulled back together.  I will forever be restricted with certain physical activities.  It's been a very challenging time both physically and mentally for me.   However despite all the pain and surgeries, I saved my daughter's life.  I would do it all over again for her or any of my kids! 

This will be my 11th year participating in the Pittsburgh Marathon.   Because of all the generous support from family and friends over the years,  we raised over $154,000 for UPMC Children's Hospital Transplant Research Department!   Words can't express the gratitude and appreciation we have for all of your generosity.   

The donations we have raised over the years went towards Dr. Sindhi's transplant research lab to help fund one of his biggest research studies ever. They are working on finding a cause and cure to Biliary Atresia, the liver disease Alaina was born with.  In addition, they are doing studies on predicting chronic liver rejection after transplantation.   Over the years the money we donated to Dr. Sindhi's research has help paid for 600 DNA kits used to collect samples from Biliary Atresia kids around the world.  Your donations also went towards a new FDA approved blood test called Pleximmune.   It's the first test of its kind and was created by Dr. Sindhi and his team.  It can determine liver or intestine rejection in transplant kids. The purpose is to avoid putting kids through invasive biopsies and helps doctors predict rejection.  So believe me your donations are making a difference in Alaina and other transplant kids!   

It's truly an honor to help this exceptional hospital because they saved our daughter's life and continue to make it better. Together we are helping Alaina & every other child benefit from the spectacular research and care at UPMC Children's Hospital! 

Sincerely, 

Arlen Janet and Family   

UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation is the sole fundraising arm of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

The foundation exists to provide financial support for the hospital’s mission of improving the health and well-being of children, teenagers, and young adults through excellence in patient care, teaching, research, and advocacy.