Ahead of her third birthday, Lilah Joiner received the two best presents she could have ever received: a kidney and a liver.
Lilah was born with a rare genetic disorder called autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, which causes cysts to develop in the kidneys. It can also cause failure of other organs, and on July 31, 2017, after two years of dialysis, she was placed on a transplant list, with doctors telling her family she needed a new kidney and liver, fast.
There are not enough deceased donors in the United States to help all of the patients who need organ transplants, George Mazariegos, chief of pediatric transplantation at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, told Good Morning America, and Lilah's family started looking for living donors. Enter Joseph Smith, the husband of Lilah's mother's best friend. He was a match for the liver donation, and extended family friend Missy Lathem was able to donate a kidney.
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Exactly one year after she was placed on the transplant list, Lilah underwent surgery and had two living-donor transplants. She is "just loving life with her new kidney and liver," Lilah's mom, Katherin Joiner, told GMA. "She said, 'I'm so excited I get to eat pizza now!'" The family is grateful for the generosity of friends, and Mazariegos said they are "the real heroes in this story, along with Lilah. Because of the way they helped her and really thought about the impact for their lives." Catherine Garcia
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