Lauren suffers from Biliary atresia, a rare condition in newborn infants in which the common bile duct between the liver and the small intestine is blocked or absent.  About one in 10,000 to 20,000 babies in the U.S are affected every year.  When Lauren was two months old she had about 1/2 of her liver removed and underwent the  Kasai procedure.  The surgery involves exposing the porta hepatis (the area of the liver from which bile should drain) and attaching part of the small intestine to the exposed liver surface.  A liver transplant is the only option.  Lauren is going to have the transplant done at  Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Egleston Children's Hospital) in Atlanta, Georgia.  For more information on the hospital go to Lauren's home page and click on hospital information.