Three weeks ago, Xander Redman, was put on the transplant list in the hope of a new liver. The eight-month-old boy has a condition known as biliary atresia in which a toxic build up is caused by blocked bile ducts. 

Xander’s mother, Tara Anderson, and her fiancé Matthew, left their home and family in the small Tasmanian town of Burnie, to move into the RCH on 24 November  to wait for the vital transplant for Xander’s second chance at life.

RCH surgeons hoped that the Kasasi procedure, which would delay the need for a new liver, would work for Xander but they found his liver was too scarred. “They told us he needs the transplant now and we wouldn’t be going anywhere until he gets one”, Tara said.

Tara is confident that Xander’s big day will come in time but also knows what that will mean for someone else. “I think a lot about what this donation means for another family. It will be an absolute tragedy for them, but for us it means a new life”, she said. “As soon as he gets a liver, they tell us he’ll be up and bounding around, that we won’t even recognise our own baby”.

Donate to The Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal at goodfridayappeal.com.au or phone 9292 1166.