At six months of age, Lily Allen was diagnosed with hemangioendothelioma, a very rare tumor. Nothing stopped the growth of the benign tumors in her liver as they took up the space needed by her other organs. Technically, Lily was too sick for a transplant, but with nothing to lose, it was decided that she would undergo a rare infant liver transplant. Now 25 and recently married, Lily said, “I was given a second chance at life – a liver to make me a Liver.”

Lily's Story

Lily Allen was diagnosed with hemangioendothelioma, a very rare tumor, in November 1983 when she was only six months old. At the time, there were only 13 cases of this disease published worldwide. Nothing stopped the growth of the benign tumors in her liver; as they grew, they took up the space needed by her other organs. Just one spoonful of food would take up too much room for her lungs to expand. She was slowly starving to death, and each breath became more labored.

Lily was too sick to be accepted into the transplant program. When she stopped breathing on her own, she was put on a respirator. With nothing to lose, it was decided to do a rare infant liver transplant.

At the same time, young Matthew Bemis drowned in a lake. His parents decided to donate their child’s organs and tissue to prevent other parents from going through what they were experiencing. Lily received Matthew’s liver, and her recovery was dramatic -- so much so that Lily has since become a nationally recognized case study for successful transplants.

Although her childhood was filled with many illnesses and hospitalizations, Lily excelled in school and participated in many after-school activities. Then she met the love of her life, Brian. “He was with me when I had the amazing opportunity to meet my donor family for the first time in 2004,” said Lily. “I had met them when I was two and five, but I was too young to remember.

“I was so incredibly nervous to meet the parents of the child whose liver had been keeping me alive all these years. This was quite possibly one of the most important moments of my life. As soon as Mr. Bemis’ arms enveloped me, I knew everything was just the way it was supposed to be. Not only had I been given a second chance at life -- a liver to make me a Liver -- I cannot ever thank them enough for their precious gift and their eternal selflessness.”

When Lily and Brian married three years later on August 8, 2008, the 24th anniversary of Lily’s liver transplant, the Bemises were there as members of the family. They attended the rehearsal dinner, sat up front during the ceremony and stood in the receiving line.

“Yes, I still feel the pain and the guilt that such a wonderful family and beautiful community had to lose someone so special, especially when my own community would not have even noticed if I had not survived,” commented Lily. “I still want to cry for the pain the Bemis family went through and still goes through. The guilt will never go away, but I hope that I can turn it into something good for others around me.

“My husband and I want to get more involved with the transplant community; to speak, to help, to be with people when they need us the most, or even when they just need us. I want to share my story.“