North

Yukon baby's father a match for liver transplant

A series of tests has returned good news for a Yukon family: the parents of Emmett Smith say they're delighted to hear his father is a suitable match for a liver transplant operation.

Family had been waiting for news as 6-month-old suffers from liver cancer

Emmett Smith, aged 6 months, is undergoing treatment for liver cancer in Edmonton. (Facebook)

There's good news for the parents of Emmett Smith, a six-month-old Yukon child that has a rare form of liver cancer.

Doctors at an Edmonton hospital say the boy's father, Michael, is a healthy match to provide a transplant.

Mother Charlotte Francis got the good news yesterday.

"Me and Emmett's dad were really happy," she said. "We both started crying, even the lady on the other end [who called us] was crying so it's just good news."

Preparations are now being made for an operation. The transplant surgery is scheduled for May 11. Doctors will extract a small piece of the father's liver and transplant it into the baby. 

The family recently moved to Edmonton and are receiving care at the Stollery Children's Hospital. 

Emmett has been undergoing chemotherapy related to liver cancer since January.