Emma grew up a happy and healthy kid. She not only excelled academically, but was also a stellar swimmer and competitive soccer player. Her whole life seemed essentially normal, until it wasn’t…

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Emma lived, unknowingly, with autoimmune hepatitis until ending up in the emergency room due to her yellow discoloration. At sixteen years old, she was immediately rushed to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, where she was placed #1 on the national transplant list due to her medical state. 

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From the moment Emma entered the hospital, doctors recognized that she was a medical phenomenon: “I felt completely fine. I mean I was nuclear yellow, but I felt fine. Just as tired as every other teenager, stacked with homework, but still enjoying life. My doctors told me I shouldn’t have been able to walk, talk, or let alone understand what they were saying.” Four days after being admitted, Emma had an emergency liver transplant: November 4, 2018. 

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Since then, Emma has been combating the repercussions of her new reality: Rituximab infusions, external drains and ostomy bags, hundreds of procedures- nothing a kid should get used to. 

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On April 13, 2024 Emma was flown home from college for emergency surgery. After multiple tests and biopsies, her doctors discovered that she was suffering from three forms of rejection: chronic rejection, acute rejection, and donor mediated rejection. 

 

She has received multiple rounds of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions over the past few months. Despite the intense treatment, her labs were not improving. Since her infusions did not yield positive results, she received a second transplant and is currently undergoing the painstaking recovery. Unfortunately, due to Emma’s autoimmune hepatitis, coupled with her three other chronic illnesses, this new liver will last her an undetermined amount of time. 

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Emma has always been so positive and optimistic, but as her health declines, it becomes more difficult for her to put up a fight; this is why we are asking for your help. With your support, researchers could help Emma and many other individuals suffering from autoimmune hepatitis survive.