Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe / WBZ NewsRadio
BILLERICA, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A 25-year-old woman from Billerica is in the fight of her life as she awaits a living donor to come forward.
Haylee Reed has Cystic Fibrosis, and her health has only declined since her diagnosis as she lives in liver failure. Reed joined a waitlist for a transplant in the spring, but finding a viable liver out of that is something that could take years, Reed's aunt Amy Varrell told WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe.
"With liver donation, or any transplant, you have to be very very sick to be at the top of that list," Varrell said.
Haylee's mother, Ann Reed, says their family created a webpage "Haylee's Hero" in the meantime to inform any potential donors of the requirements and outcomes liver transplants bring. The Reed family is seeking a donor with Type O blood, who's willing to give 60 percent of their liver.
According to Mass General Hospital, liver donors can expect to have a one-to-three-month recovery period, as the organ grows to its full size in a matter of weeks.
"Now that Haylee's liver is so damaged, she can't take some of the medications that were keeping her CF symptoms managed— so there's a concern that her lungs would decline rapidly to the point where she may not withstand transplant," Reed said.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App