Airdrie family encouraging more live organ donors after one saved toddler’s life

A two-year-old Airdrie boy is thriving after a liver transplant from a family friend. The transplant comes after Alagille syndrome threatened his life last year

An Airdrie toddler who was in the hospital for months waiting for a liver donation is now home and healthy thanks to a live organ donor.

Colby Crofts’ condition was worsening when Amy Hasson donated a piece of her liver.

“He’s thriving, and it’s an indescribable feeling,” said Hasson.

Colby’s health began improving immediately after the surgery, and according to his mom, doctors are happy with his progress.

“The liver looks great. It’s functioning beautifully. He’s growing, developing faster,” said his mom, Stephanie Crofts.

Colby has a rare genetic condition called Alagille syndrome.

Last year, the impacts on his liver were threatening his life.

“Last summer, we saw a really great decline in his health, so we did almost lose him in the hospital a number of times. We spent months in the ICU,” said Crofts.

That’s when Hasson, a family friend, received word she was a medical match, and in September 2025, she and Colby underwent the transplant surgeries.

Hasson started getting tested weeks earlier when she knew Colby needed a donor to survive.

“I had this feeling inside that, you know, it’s something that I needed to do,” said Hasson, a mother of two young children.

She’s not the first person in her family to donate an organ.

“My mom donated her kidney to my uncle a couple years previous, so I kind of watched her recovery and watched her go through it, and it was just a pretty amazing experience,” said Hasson.

In 2025, there were 75 living donors in Alberta.

Seventy-one donated kidneys and four—including Hasson—donated liver lobes.

Hasson says it was worth the risk of major surgery and months of recovery.

She said she was walking the day after surgery, back home after a week and seven months later is going to the gym and feels almost back to normal.

“It’s not that scary; they do it often. The recovery is not that bad, and seven months for a child’s life is everything,” she said.

Colby’s family hopes this story encourages others to become living organ donors.

“I think it’s incredible. I think they’re like living superheroes. I think it’s the most selfless act that you could do,” said Crofts.

Colby got his happy ending, but more than 500 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Alberta.

If you are considering becoming a live organ donor, there are more details here.

If you want your organs donated when you die, you have to register your decision, not just sign the back of your health card.

You can learn more here.