3-Year-Old Liver Recipient Meets Donor Family for First Time

“I’m a butterfly!”

Like the butterfly she claimed to be, Deanna Anderson proved she had transformed from a very sick infant into a rambunctious 3-year-old thanks to a new liver, as she floated between family members and friends at the National Donate Life Blue and Green Day festivities on Friday. Deanna, who suffered from life-threatening biliary atresia since birth, received a lifesaving liver transplant when she was 8 months old, performed by University of Miami Health System surgeons Akin Tekin, M.D., and Jennifer Garcia, M.D.

At a press conference at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Headquarters, Deanna and her mother, Heidi Anderson, met the donor family for the first time. As tears fell and hugs were shared, Heidi said, “Today, we have a new addition to our family.”

Maria Lee and Ruth Romero, mother and sister of Kenneth Romero, whose liver saved Deanna, stared in awe of the tiny girl whose big smile and curly, red hair showed that their decision to donate Kenneth’s organs had not been in vain.

Ruth, who discovered her 23-year-old brother unconscious after an asthma attack and was unable to revive him with CPR, bent down to Deanna’s eye level and engulfed her in a hug, while Kenneth’s mother stood holding a picture of her son and observed the moment.

“We are overcome with emotion right now,” Ruth said. “Kenneth became a donor through his driver’s license. We are very proud.”

As gifts were exchanged – “Frozen” dolls for Deanna and a teddy bear constructed at Build-A-Bear by Deanna that shared her voice in a private message for Kenneth’s family – Heidi and Maria spoke of the many connections between their two children. From their love of the color red to sharing the same laugh, the bond between the families continued to grow the more they learned of each other.

“Deanna was saved by Kenneth,” Heidi said. “Without the donor, there is no story, no hope.”

Hosted by Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, University of Miami Tissue Bank, Donor Services Foundation, Florida Lions Eye Bank and the University of Miami’s Brain Endowment Bank, the event also commemorated local lives saved and positively impacted through the gift of donation. In addition, special guest Steven Abbate, father of 15-year-old organ donor Luka Abbate, who was featured in the 2010 film “The Fifth Quarter,” shared his family’s experience with organ donation, and how Luke’s sacrifice went on to inspire the Wake Forest football team to unprecedented success.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness for organ, eye, tissue and brain donation registration – people can register for organ donation through their driver’s license or by visiting DonateLife.com. However, perhaps Deanna had the best strategy for raising awareness, always following her thank yous with “Donate life!”

Tags: donate, donate life, life alliance, liver, liver transplant, miami translplant institute, organ donation, transplant