Meet Hudson and Trevor

National Pediatric Transplant Week takes place the last full week of National Donate Life Month in April. It focuses on the powerful message of ending the pediatric transplant waiting list. We recognize clinical researchers and practitioners who make innovative care possible, honor donor families whose loved ones have saved and healed lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation, and share our gratitude alongside recipient families.

Hudson Hill was born with biliary atresia, a liver condition that affects a baby’s bile ducts. At only 2 months old, this beautiful blue-eyed baby with long brown locks was in dire need of a new liver. His only hope was a donor.

“Biliary atresia is the most common reason kids get liver transplants,” said Dr. Andre Dick, transplant surgeon at Seattle Children’s and associate professor of surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “If the bile cannot leave the liver, it damages the organ and eventually leads to liver failure.”

Jordan and Morgan, Hudson’s parents, didn’t qualify as donors and before they even had a chance to reach out to their friends and family, Hudson’s Uncle, United States Army Special Operations Command Col. Trevor Hill, had already contacted the hospital. Trevor was evaluated at the University of Washington Medical Center and was approved to be Hudson’s living donor. A living donor candidate needs to be an adult who has the same blood type as the recipient and a healthy liver. Only a portion of the liver is needed for a living donor transplant because the organ can regenerate for both the donor and recipient within months if there are no complications.

On July 10, 2017, the doctors at UW removed a portion of Trevor’s liver and the surgeons at Seattle Children’s successfully transplanted the graft into Hudson.

Four days after surgery, Trevor was discharged and visited Hudson, who had already lost the yellowish tint to his skin and eyes brought on by the biliary atresia before surgery.

Trevor spent another week recuperating before flying back to his wife, Katie, and two young daughters in North Carolina.

Hudson had a longer road in front of him. He spent 40 days in the hospital recovering as the care team worked through some post-surgery complications. Jordan and Morgan alternated spending nights at the hospital and were involved in every step of Hudson’s care.

“The team at Seattle Children’s became an extended part of our family,” Jordan said. “It was a comfort to know that they were acting in Hudson’s best interest. Their goal was our goal.”

After their long journey, Hudson was discharged on Aug. 18.

It has been almost 2 years since the Hill’s were given hope in the form of a living donor. Today, Hudson is not only growing – he is thriving. The scars on Hudson’s abdomen are a reminder of the challenges his family has faced and the incredible gift of life from his uncle Trevor.

The Hills want people to know their story and the impact organ donation can make for the 117,000 people in the U.S. currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant. The truth is, there are more people waiting for hope than there are receiving it. And that’s where our work begins. Together, we can make a difference. By registering as a donor or inquiring about live donation, every person has the ability to change a person’s ending. By registering as an organ donor, every person has the potential to introduce hope to a family that would be otherwise consumed by helplessness.

“It would be special to us if our story helped another family going through the transplant process,” Jordan said.