Full circle: Transplant recipient returns as a transplant nurse

Laurie Lukianov has a more extensive medical history than most people would accumulate in several lifetimes. She spent most of her childhood in a hospital, and remarkably, that’s where the 26-year-old nursing student wants to spend her career. “There is no question in my mind,” she says. “Since I was 3 years old, I wanted to be a nurse.” Born with biliary atresia—a life-threatening liver condition in which the bile duct to the small intestine becomes blocked—Laurie underwent two liver transplants by age 13. Due to her long history of health problems, Laurie has had to overcome more obstacles than the average nursing student. But in many ways, these obstacles make her an ideal fit for the field she wishes to pursue—pediatric transplant. ‘The biggest benefit is that I know what they have gone through,” she says. A groundbreaking transplant Laurie, pre-transplant Laurie’s first liver transplant was performed at Boston Children’s Hospital, where a segment of Laurie’s father’s liver was transplanted into his 3-year-old daughter—making her New England’s first transplant from a living, related donor and garnering media attention throughout the East Coast, including an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America. The transplant was successful and allowed Laurie to lead what she refers to as “a relatively normal childhood.” However, it was not a fully functioning liver, and she knew it would not be her last. “I was in and out of...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our patients’ stories liver failure Liver transplant living donor Pediatric Transplant Center (PTC) Source Type: news