Winnipeg family desperate for liver donor for girl, 11

A Winnipeg family is desperately searching for a liver donor to help keep their 11-year-old daughter alive.

Allexis Siebrechtsuffersfrom a life-threatening and rare liver disease.Sheneeds a liver transplant before it's too late.

At first glance, Siebrecht seems like a normal kid. She lovesplaying the piano, Justin Bieber, and goofing around with her brand new brother.

But the sixth graderhas actually suffered from Biliary Atresia since she was a baby. It's a rareliver diseasethat affects one in every 10to 20,000infants, according to the Canadian Liver Foundation.

As a baby, the little girl had what's known as the Kasaiprocedure that saved her life.But last year, things took a turn for the worst.

Her mother Liz Siebrecht says this past fall, doctors gave the family the devastating news.The little girl is now suffering from end stage liver disease.That along with other medical conditions mean if she doesn't get a liver transplant within three to six months, it could be too late.

"They [doctors]don't want to transplant her at her bottom,with her being so yellow and her jaundice not subsiding. Time is progressing."

Time is progressing- Liz Siebrecht

Siebrecht says because Allexis has typeO+ bloodand needs a livedonor, it`s been extremely difficult to find a match.She wants donors to know that the liver grows back and that the transplant will save her daughter's life.

As the family waits for a donor, they're trying to focuson the good.

"Just speaking positive and just loving my kids and living life to the fullest," Siebrecht says.

Still the single mom (whoalso has a brand new baby boy Jasper and a six-year-old daughter Jersey) says if a donor comes through, the family will have to rush to Toronto for the transplant,costs that Manitoba Health will only partially cover.She's started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the trip.

As for Allexis, she's making bracelets to help her mom raise money for her transplant costs.

She's notworried about the surgery itself. "I'm not scared."

I'm not scared.- AllexisSiebrecht

She says she has threegood luck charms on her side.

Her family, her teddy bear Stitches that goes to all her hospital stays with her, and her faith in God.

"I pray every night before bed and every night before I eat."

She's using that prayer and the powerful love from her mom and her siblings to get by.

Offers to help by being tested for organ donation

More than a dozen people have offered to be tested to be live liver donors on the GoFundMe site.

One of them is Suzanne Keast, a mother of two young children.

Keast says she's blood type O+, and she wants to help.

"Ever since I learned my blood type and learned that it is something that's not the most common out there, I've felt that, OK, I probably need to do something with that," she said.

"I look at my own children and if they needed it, I would be very, very grateful if there was somebody out there who could save one of them. If I can be that person, it makes sense," she said.

Keast says if she can't help Seibrecht, she hopes she can help someone else.

Signing up to be a donor

Unfortunately, just because Keast wants to donate, it doesn't mean she'll be a match for Allexis.

In order to be a donor, you have to undergo extensive testing. The testing willdetermine whetheryou are a match or not.That's why it's important that anyone who may be interested in helping Allexis, put their name forward.

In order to be considered as a potential donor, you must meet three main criteria.

A person mustbe between 18 and 45 years old for an adult to child transplant. Donors can be up to 60-years-old for an adult to adult transplant.You must be in good overall health.And finally, your blood type must match that of the recipient,in Allexis' case that's the O blood type.

If you do meet these prerequisites, contact Toronto General Hospital to startthe application process.

You can also contactLizSiebrechtat lizsiebrecht307@hotmail.com or visit the GoFundMe page.