Baby Ieva faces two-month wait in bid for transplant

AN infant girl will have to wait another two months before doctors decide she is ready for a life-saving liver transplant.

Five-month-old Ieva Zukaskaute from Rahoon in Co Galway has just returned home with her parents from King’s College Hospital in London where medical experts assessed her condition.

The baby, who has already undergone two unsuccessful operations to correct her condition, is not expected to see her first birthday without the transplant.

The infant, who is currently in a stable condition, suffers from biliary atresia, a rare disease that affects newborn babies.

Ieva’s condition is not inherited, the cause is unknown and treatments are only partially successful.

Her godmother, Audrey Cassidy, said Ieva had cirrhosis of the liver that had reached an advanced stage.

She said doctors at Kings College want Ieva’s Lithuanian parents, Christina and Andrew Zukaskaute, to have her vaccinated against a range of childhood diseases over the next two months.

“They are concerned that she is still very young for the transplant procedure and are anxious that her immune system is boosted before the procedure,” said Ms Cassidy.

The child’s mother works with Ms Cassidy and her mother, Louise Blade, at the Sewing Studio in Galway.

Ieva’s parents have lived in Galway for the past seven years. They have an 11-year-old daughter, Laura.

Ms Blade said that doctors at King’s College and Galway University Hospital would be communicating regularly about the baby’s condition.

She also said that the Zukaskaute family received a very positive response to their appeal for help with travel and other costs.

Ms Blade said the fund raising effort would continue at the studio and at the local bank.

An account has been opened for the Baby Ieva Fund at AIB Lynch’s Castle in Galway. The account number is 33233063 and branch number is 937096.