COTA for Westen

Our Story

Our Sweet Baby Westen Hagen 🐻💚

Our family is reaching out with hopeful hearts to ask for your support of COTA in honor of our sweet little boy, Westen Michael Hagen.

Westen is truly a miracle. After years of infertility, countless tests, heartbreak, and prayers, his parents, Crystal and Taylor Hagen, finally welcomed him into the world on December 26, 2025. He has been a blessing from the very beginning.

If you’ve ever met Westen, you know he is so much more than his diagnosis. He has the biggest smile that can light up an entire room, an infectious laugh, and a joyful spirit that reminds us every day how precious life truly is.

When Westen’s newborn jaundice failed to improve, doctors began searching for answers. What started as routine blood work quickly led to a liver biopsy, countless tests, and a devastating diagnosis at the age of 7 weeks.

At only 6 months old, Westen has already endured more blood draws, procedures, hospital stays, and doctor’s appointments than most adults experience in a lifetime.

Westen has been diagnosed with Alagille Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver, heart, eyes, bones, and kidneys. Today, his family faces the unimaginable reality that Westen needs a liver transplant to save his life.

Our Brave Little Bear

The incredible nurses at Children’s Hospital gave Westen a spirit animal—a bear. They told us bears are known for their fearless determination to keep fighting, even when wounded. They represent healing, resilience, strength, and courage.

We couldn’t imagine a more perfect symbol for our little warrior.

Westen is our Brave Little Bear.

Every single day he shows us what courage looks like. His strength is inspiring, and his resilience reminds us that miracles are worth fighting for.

How You Can Help

As Westen prepares for the biggest battle of his young life, we’re asking for help in two very important ways.

1. Financial Support to COTA for Westen

The journey to a liver transplant brings overwhelming expenses that extend far beyond the surgery itself. Your generosity will help COTA ease the financial burden so Crystal and Taylor can focus entirely on caring for their son.

Donations to COTA for Westen will help assist with transplant-related expenses such as:

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses

• Pre- and post-transplant care

• Anti-rejection medications and ongoing treatments

• Travel, lodging, and meals while away from home due to transplant

Doctors have shared that Westen may require 20–30 medications during his first year following transplant, along with extensive follow-up care.

2. Become a Living Liver Donor

We are also praying for the miracle of a living liver donor.

Because Westen is only 6 months old and weighs approximately 11 pounds, only a very small portion of a healthy donor’s liver may be needed. The remarkable thing about the liver is that both the donor’s and recipient’s livers can regenerate, allowing each to grow back to normal size in approximately four months.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a living liver donor, more information is coming soon — we will have an update by Sept. 1st. Even if donation isn’t possible for you, sharing Westen’s story may help it reach the person who can save his life.

Every Act of Kindness Matters

Every prayer.

Every share.

Every donation to COTA for Westen.

Every encouraging message.

Each one reminds our family that we are not walking this journey alone.

We continue to believe in miracles and hold tightly to the hope that Westen will receive the precious gift of life. We look forward to the day his beautiful smile lights up a room simply because he’s healthy enough to enjoy being a little boy.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for loving our sweet Westen, praying for him, and standing beside our family during this difficult journey.

Our Brave Little Bear is teaching all of us how to fight with courage, hope, and unconditional love. Today, we’re asking for your help to carry him through this fight.

With love and heartfelt gratitude,

The Hagen Family

🐻 💚

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.