A mum was able to save her child’s life with a liver transplant after the tot started to deteriorate just days after birth.
Ashlynn Moss welcomed her son Luka, with her baby “seemingly healthy and perfect”.
But less than a week after leaving the hospital, Luka became severely jaundiced – and doctors found his liver was failing.
He was listed for a transplant and, after a potential donor fell through and months of watching him deteriorate, Ashlynn discovered she was a viable match.
Just seven months after giving birth, she underwent major surgery to save Luka’s life, donating a portion of her liver to him.
“I was excited to give my son another chance at life, and didn’t care what I had to go through,” the 30-year-old stay-at-home mum, from Utah, US, told Need To Know.
“It was meant to be me – I knew this to my core.
“I would give my life for my children.”
It came after a terrifying start to life, with Ashlynn and her husband Hayden watching Luka slowly decline.
She said: “When Luka was born in November 2023, it felt like a dream welcoming my third child into the world, seemingly healthy and perfect.
“It was less than a week later, before being discharged, that we grew concerned over his jaundice levels, which were off the charts, and had to meet with a specialist.
“We had no idea that jaundice levels could be related to potential liver failure – we truly knew nothing.
“After many tests, they ended up doing a liver biopsy.
“I had never been so scared in my life.”
The biopsy found Luka had been born with biliary atresia – a rare liver disease.
At 18 days old, he had major abdominal surgery to correct it, but it was unsuccessful.
And, due to his poor liver, Luka wasn’t absorbing calories or vitamins, and became “severely malnourished”, and was given a feeding tube.
Ashlynn said: “It was excruciating watching [him decline] and caring for his medically complex needs.
“He deteriorated very quickly and was in and out of the hospital, needing many medical interventions to keep him alive while we waited.”
The family had all gotten tested immediately after Luka was placed on the transplant list at five months old, but the process took several months.
A potential donor fell through shortly before the planned surgery, with Luka prepped and waiting for the donation, due to flight delays.
Ashlynn said, “No words can describe how we felt this day.
“At this point, he was in end-stage liver failure.
“You could actually smell how sick he was – it was somewhat of a metallic scent, or a rotten smell.”
But despite the disappointment, three weeks later, they got the news they had been desperately waiting for: the doctors had found a viable donor who was a perfect match.
And this time it wasn’t a stranger – but Ashlynn herself.
Her husband had also been tested but was deemed unsuitable due to his liver size, and Ashlynn’s sister-in-law also got tested, but wasn’t a strong enough match.
Ashlynn said, “Finding out I would potentially be able to save my son’s life was a miracle.
“I was at a point of desperation, where I didn’t care what it would take – I just wanted his suffering to end and to start our journey to healing.”
Ashlynn had given birth via C-section just seven months prior before the surgery, which took place in June 2024.
She said: “I remember going into the bathroom and scratching a line on my belly as to where my next battle wound would be.
“[But by] the day of the transplant, I wasn’t scared anymore – I felt peace.”
After a six-hour surgery, Ashlynn was awake and in pain, but was relieved to hear everything had gone smoothly – and her liver was on its way to the children’s hospital to save her son.
She said, “Discharge couldn’t come soon enough.
“Three days later, I was on my way to see Luka, drinking protein to help my liver regenerate.”
Finally, the family was reunited, and the initial test results showed Luka was in the normal range of liver function.
Ashlynn spent her recovery at her son’s side, and after 40 days in the hospital, they finally went home together, where they have both recovered well.
She said, “After three months or so of recovery, donating my liver has not affected me at all.
“I [now] feel just like I did pre-transplant.
“I just have a battle wound to tell an incredible story!”
Since the life-saving and life-changing surgeries, Luka has been going from strength to strength.
Ashlynn said: “We are both healed and thriving – and bonded forever.
“Watching him grow and his milestones is a dream come true.
“We don’t take a single day for granted with him and acknowledge how fortunate we are to have this outcome.
“He is thriving and doing all the things any normal toddler should be doing.
“Even after everything he went through, he never failed to give me his biggest smiles – he is my sunshine boy.”
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