From SPLIT to the White House: Fight For Life Club's Mission to Save Lives, One Child at a Time

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --In just three months, three critically ill children received the gift of life through living donor liver transplants made possible by the Fight For Life Club Foundation and its alliance with the National Institute of Pediatrics (INP) in Mexico. These aren't just medical procedures — they're stories of hope, resilience, and shared humanity across borders.

This May, the Foundation's work was honored on the global stage. Invited to present at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT) and later welcomed to the White House, Fight For Life Club stood alongside world's transplant leaders in recognition of its growing impact on pediatric health.

"Collaboration is the only way we can fulfill our mission: to give our children a second chance to live," said José Manuel Cadena Ortiz de Montellano, President of Fight For Life Club Foundation. "Every child's life saved proves what's possible when medicine, compassion, and purpose come together."

A Mission Validated at the Highest Levels

At SPLIT 2025, the Foundation shared a powerful milestone: three pediatric living donor transplants in three months. In Mexico, where deceased donor access is limited, living donation remains the fastest, most effective way to save a child with liver failure.

SPLIT, the world's leading summit on pediatric liver transplantation, brings together the most respected pediatric hepatologist, surgeons, nurse coordinators, researchers, and advocates from more than 20 countries. The Foundation's invitation to participate at SPLIT underscores international recognition of a model that's not only working — but changing lives.

That recognition reached a powerful moment at the White House, where Fight For Life Club Foundation was honored to be invited — not only to represent its mission, but to stand alongside a group of extraordinary leaders and truly inspiring human beings, each with a powerful story and a lifelong commitment to saving lives.

A Global Coalition for Children
Present at the White House with José Manuel Cadena were four world-renowned leaders committed to saving lives:

• Dr. Manuel Rodríguez-Dávalos, President of SPLIT, the primary surgeon behind Fight For Life Club's pediatric cases, and a Board Member of the Foundation.
• Dr. Magdy Attia, Chief of the Liver Transplant Program at TransMedics, whose Organ Care System (OCS) has enabled over 9,000 organ transplants — transforming how livers, hearts, and lungs are preserved and transported.
• Dr. Gabriel Gondolesi, Director of Pediatric Liver Transplantation at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Founder of the Gondolesi Foundation, a leading advocate for transplant access throughout Latin America.
• Brittany Mumm, Chair of SPLIT's Parents, Family, and Engaged Partners Committee, who ensures families' voices guide pediatric transplant support and policy around the world.

Also present was Yaret Álvarez Perdigón, who has supported the Foundation's mission from day one. Through Persea Apothecary, the company she co-founded with her sisters, a portion of every sale is donated to help fund pediatric liver transplants — turning purpose into action with every product. Her presence reflected the growing community of families and businesses now standing behind Fight For Life Club's mission.

Saving Lives, One Child at a Time
Each of the more than dozen procedures supported by Fight For Life Club represents a child who now has a future. The Foundation's work includes funding surgeries, supporting donor logistics, and ensuring post-transplant care.

You can help save a child's life today
Every donation — large or small — goes directly to funding the next transplant, the next hospital team, and the next child who refuses to give up.

Donate now at www.fightforlifeclub.org.

Media Contact:

Manuel Cadena

972.468.0077

[email protected]

SOURCE Fight For Life Club