WINNIPEG — An 11-year-old Winnipeg girl is one step closer to getting a liver transplant that will save her life.
Allexis Siebrecht has had a liver disease since she was 3 months old.
She’s now in desperate need of a live donor and when news spread last week, Samantha Lussier, 24, felt compelled to help.
“She’s a brave little girl,” said Lussier who has the same rare blood type O as Allexis. “When I found out I was the same blood type I put in an application to try and help.”
WATCH: Samantha Lussier explains what’s ahead in the donor process
After filling out the application forms on Tuesday, Lussier got a call she really didn’t expect.
Tuesday afternoon, the Toronto General Hospital called asking her to come to Toronto Monday, get more tests done and possibly go into surgery next Friday, donating a part of her liver to Allexis.
“I feel pretty excited,” said Allexis’ mom Liz Siebrecht, after hearing the news, “Things seem to be moving, we just have to be patient, cross our fingers.”
READ MORE: Girl, 11, waits for liver transplant, strangers eager to help
However, there’s still a chance Lussier might not be the right match.
“I could get into the operating room, they could open me up and discover I’m really not a match,” but Lussier says doctors said there’s only a 2 per cent chance of that happening.
Either way, Allexis says she wants to meet Lussier one day.
“I would say hello, I would say thank you for helping,” Allexis says she’d say to Lussier. “If she was a donor, I’d say I’m really happy that you were a donor.”
Lussier flies to Toronto Sunday morning on a flight that’s already been donated, and will get multiple tests done before Friday, which is the scheduled surgery date.
“The fact that I could potentially save a little girls life feels amazing,” said Lussier.
Both families are raising money to cover travel expenses to Toronto. If you want to contribute to Allexis’ Gofundme account and Samantha’s Gofundme account click on the links.
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