Emily Hawkins is a fourth grader from Granville, OH. She is our nine-year-old little girl who is fully spirited, lovingly inspirational, fiercely resilient, life embracing, puppy adoring, smart as a whip, joyful, and beautifully talented artist, writer and musician. And she has a broken liver.

Emily’s need for a liver transplant began the minute she came into this world as she was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia (BA), a liver disease with no known cause. The bile ducts outside and inside the liver are scarred and blocked, causing progressive damage to the liver. She has undergone incredible treatments, including a Kasai procedure, and received tremendous care throughout her short life. Having many ups and downs, she has been such a trooper and will be the first to tell you “how children like to have their sticks,” as she’s faced more needles than any person should have to endure. As this disease has progressed and her health has deteriorated, she is now facing her biggest challenge: it’s time for our brave Emily to get her new liver!

The living donor process has begun at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. A living donor match has been found and the transplant is scheduled. Fundraising will benefit COTA ,in honor of Emily, to assist with living donor and lifelong transplant related expenses.

Please join COTA for Emily’s Fight, DONATE NOW, keep Emily in your prayers and share this link as we follow her on this journey. As Emily once said at an early age, “Don’t do nothing, just do anything.”

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.