When Sarah was born in February 1997, she had an enlarged bladder but otherwise appeared to be a healthy baby girl. But within 24 hours, everything changed—she began vomiting and was rushed to SickKids Hospital where doctors discovered a more complex issue affecting her intestines.
Over the next few months, Sarah endured multiple surgeries to repair a twisted bowel, remove a ruptured appendix, and search for obstructions. Genetic testing revealed the cause: a rare condition called Megacystis Microcolon Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome (MMIHS), making Sarah the first child in Canada diagnosed with this condition.
In a cruel twist of fate, the medication keeping her alive began destroying her liver and pancreas. Sarah needed a multi-organ transplant to survive—liver, bowel, stomach, and pancreas—something that had never been done on a child so young in Canada. Sarah was placed on the transplant waitlist. Her mom left work to stay by her side, while her dad drove back and forth to Cobourg to support the family.
When she was just over five months old, Sarah started bleeding internally—her life was slipping away. Fearing she wouldn’t survive the night, her family had her baptized in the hospital. That same evening, they received life-changing news: a donor had been found.
Sarah was flown to London where surgeons worked through the night to save her life. At just five months and 24 days old, she made history—becoming Canada’s first pediatric multi-organ transplant recipient and the youngest in the world. All four organs Sarah needed came from one tiny hero, a baby close to her size and blood type. Her parents never forgot that another family had to endure unimaginable loss and still found the strength to say yes to organ donation.
Every year, Sarah celebrates her transplant anniversary—a day she calls her life day. Because one family said yes during their darkest moment, Sarah has lived years filled with milestones her parents never thought possible—she grew up to become a big sister, a two-time college graduate, she got married, and lives a full, vibrant life. At her wedding, she honoured her donor at a memorial table with a framed message that read, ‘My donor is the reason I’m here’.
Sarah’s journey taught her never to take life for granted. She now speaks out for organ and tissue donation. “Sign up to be a donor. It takes two minutes,” she says. “You never know—you could save a child whose life is just beginning, like someone did for me.”
Sarah’s story is a reminder of what organ donation means—it’s giving someone a future.
Register today at BeADonor.ca.