A September 2026 living-donor liver transplant in Mexico City was supported by F4LC, which now supports four more children under two in evaluation.
DALLAS, TX, UNITED STATES, October 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Fight For Life Club Foundation (F4LC), a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, today reported that a pediatric living-donor liver transplant supported by the Foundation was completed in September 2026 at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría (INP) in Mexico City. The Foundation also announced that it is supporting four additional children who are in evaluation or preparation for the same procedure.
The September transplant
The recipient, a girl named Ailani, was diagnosed at one year and ten months of age with a rare and aggressive liver cancer. Her treating team at INP determined that a living-donor liver transplant was the appropriate course of treatment. Her uncle completed the required medical, imaging and psychological evaluation and donated part of his liver. Ailani and her uncle were discharged from INP together after the procedure.
F4LC covered costs associated with the case through contributions from several hundred donors. Payments were made directly to hospitals, laboratories and suppliers against invoices.
Four additional children in the program
The four children now supported by the Foundation are Vasthi, Lucca, Camila and Eliel. All four are under two years of age. Their families are from the State of Mexico, Mexico City, Campeche and Jalisco. Each child is being evaluated for a transplant in which a healthy adult relative would donate part of the liver.
F4LC has established the Circle of Life Fund for this phase of the program, with a stated goal of MXN 1,000,000 (approximately USD 55,000). The Foundation has stated that it will report progress toward that goal publicly.
“Ailani’s uncle gave her part of his liver. Hundreds of donors gave the rest: the tests, the travel, the weeks near the hospital. Four more families need that same circle now,” said José Manuel Cadena Ortiz de Montellano, founder and President of F4LC and himself a liver transplant recipient.
How living-donor liver transplantation works
In a living-donor liver transplant, a healthy adult donates a portion of the liver, which regenerates in both the donor and the recipient. Before surgery, the child’s medical team must confirm that a transplant is indicated, and the donor must complete a full medical and psychological evaluation. The operation proceeds only when both are cleared.
Families of pediatric transplant candidates in Mexico often face significant costs beyond the operating room. Many travel from other states and remain near the hospital for weeks, while donor testing, lodging, transportation and medications accumulate. These costs can delay transplants that are otherwise medically possible.
Program safeguards
F4LC does not practice medicine and does not select patients. Eligibility is determined by the treating medical team, and donors do not choose which child receives support. No cash is transferred to families or institutions. Because not every child and donor pair completes the evaluation, contributions support the four children and, if a case changes for medical reasons, the next eligible child.
Program record
The September 2026 transplant follows earlier results. In 2025, F4LC reported that two pediatric living-donor liver transplants were performed at INP in a single week with its logistical and financial support, and that three children received living-donor transplants within three months.
According to Mexico’s National Transplant Center (CENATRA), 148 children died while waiting for a liver between 2014 and 2024.
At INP, the transplant program is led by Dr. Francisco Antonio Medina Vega, Chief of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic and Transplant Surgery Unit, and Dr. Esperanza Vidales Nieto, pediatric and transplant surgeon, named in their institutional capacities only. F4LC board member and lead surgeon Dr. Manuel I. Rodríguez-Dávalos, MD, FACS, collaborates with the team under the authorization of the treating hospital. He serves without fee; F4LC reimburses only documented travel expenses.
Additional information
Information on the Circle of Life Fund is available at https://donate.fightforlifeclub.org/checkout. Contributions to F4LC are tax-deductible in the United States to the extent allowed by law. Ailani’s case is documented in the Fight For Life Club Foundation magazine at https://revista.fightforlifeclub.org/eng/.
About F4LC
Fight For Life Club Foundation (F4LC) is the public name of Fight 4 Life Inc, a Delaware nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 87-3179655), founded by liver transplant recipient José Manuel Cadena Ortiz de Montellano. It funds the costs of pediatric liver transplants in Mexico, promotes living donation, and pays providers directly against invoices. More information: https://fightforlifeclub.org
Issued solely by F4LC. INP, SPLIT and the Government of Mexico do not endorse, sponsor or solicit funds through this release; donations are received only by F4LC.
Manuel Cadena
Fight 4 Life Inc
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