University Of Virginia Transplant Nurse’s Nondirected Liver Donation Saves Infant As Donor Liver Regenerates 90%

Living liver Donor’s 22% Graft Restores Infant’s Health After Six-Month Transplant

USA: A University of Virginia alum and now transplant nurse, Hannah Chenistra, donated 22 percent of her liver in a living-donor liver transplant that helped save an infant named Clara, who was born in 2021 and required a liver transplant at six months of age. The case, chronicled by the UVA alumni publication, centers the transplantation and the rare generosity that made a pediatric recovery possible.

Chenistra’s path to donation began after a separate family friend’s child needed a transplant; she was not a match for that child, whose own mother ultimately served as the donor. That experience led Chenistra to learn about nondirected donation—giving an organ to an unknown recipient—and to change careers into transplant nursing, deepening her commitment to pediatric transplantation care.

Surgeons removed roughly 22 percent of Chenistra’s liver for the graft; postoperatively her liver regenerated to about 90 percent of its original volume. Clara’s recovery has been described as successful, and the transplantation restored the infant’s prospects for healthy growth.

The story underscores the lifesaving potential of living-donor liver transplantation and nondirected donations, and it highlights how one donor’s decision can ripple into clinical careers and renewed health for a child. The UVA alumni feature presents the case as both a medical and human milestone in pediatric transplant care.

Video originally published on 2026-05-31 14:14:17