In Kenya, Briella continues her recovery after a liver transplant
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Citizen Digital
Diagnosed with biliary atresia after several weeks of tests, Briella, born in Kenya in 2023, underwent a liver transplant and is continuing a long recovery. Her family’s story highlights the prolonged care and financial difficulties associated with this rare disease, according to Citizen Digital.
Briella, who was born in Kenya in 2023, is on a long medical journey after doctors diagnosed her with biliary atresia, a rare disease that prevents bile from flowing normally from the liver to the intestine, Citizen Digital reports. The jaundice that appeared on her second day of life had initially been considered a common newborn symptom.
Persistent yellowing, weight loss and no improvement then led her family to Kenyatta National Hospital and later to Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. An examination of the bile ducts there confirmed the diagnosis, according to Pauline Wanyika Karanja, the child’s mother.
Paediatric gastroenterologist Waceke Ngangakombe explains that the accumulation of bile gradually damages the liver and can cause liver failure. Warning signs include persistent jaundice, dark urine and pale or whitish stools. The disease can also cause delayed growth and, in severe cases, bleeding linked to a reduction in certain proteins produced by the liver.
