Maximo Solano received a life-saving liver transplant on his 31st day of life.
LEWISVILLE, Texas — HOLD TIL 9PM
At just 5 months old, Maximo Solano has already survived more than most people face in a lifetime. Born with a rare and often fatal liver disease, the Lewisville infant underwent a liver transplant at just 31 days old after doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston found a donor organ small enough to save him.
His parents, Michael and Melissa Solano, now call him their miracle child.
“You wouldn’t believe it, man,” Michael Solano said, recalling the frightening hours surrounding his son’s birth. “It was very, very scary.”
The ordeal began when Melissa Solano underwent an emergency C-section delivery late last year in Plano. Following the birth, Maximo — who had not yet been named — was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit with breathing complications and signs of severe liver failure. At the same time, Melissa experienced life-threatening blood loss during surgery.
“She had lost enough blood to die,” Michael Solano said.
As doctors worked to save both mother and child, Michael said he felt helpless.
“I was lost,” he said. “The only thing I could start doing was praying.”
Melissa survived the complications, but Maximo’s condition remained uncertain. Doctors later diagnosed him with Gestational Alloimmune Liver Disease, or GALD, a rare disorder in which the mother’s immune system attacks the baby’s liver during pregnancy. The disease is typically fatal without intervention.
“I do remember thinking this might be it,” Melissa Solano said. “And for some reason I thought he and I were going to go together. But I felt at peace with that,” she said of thoughts that neither she nor her baby would survive.
The Solanos say specialists they consulted in North Texas considered Maximo too small for a liver transplant. He was transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center in Houston on Nov. 7, 2025, where specialists worked to stabilize his failing organs. He underwent multiple plasma exchanges and required dialysis, blood products, and respiratory support while doctors evaluated whether he could survive a transplant.
“It’s an unusual disease that someone gets, and then it’s also unusual to have patients be stable enough that you can take care of them and transplant them,” said Dr. John Goss, medical director of transplant services at Texas Children’s.
According to Goss, only about 40 patients in the United States have ever received transplants for GALD. This year, Texas Children’s treated two such cases, including Maximo’s.
Doctors placed Maximo on the transplant list on Nov. 20. Eight days later, on Thanksgiving Day, the family learned a donor liver had become available from another infant.
On Nov. 28 — Maximo’s one-month birthday — surgeons performed the liver transplant from an 8-month-old donor.
“Especially as a brand-new mom, that’s really, really hard to hear because you know that means there is tragedy on the other end,” Melissa Solano said. “I couldn’t pray for tragedy for someone else. So I just kept praying that God would save our baby and find a way. And he did.”
The surgery showed immediate results. Maximo gradually learned to breathe on his own and recovered despite challenges related to the size of the donor organ, including a partially closed incision during healing because the donated organ was initially bigger than his one-month-old body could hold
About a month later, he was discharged from the hospital and returned home to North Texas with his family.
Now healthy, stable, and smiling, Maximo spends his days laughing with his parents and grandmother, who calls him “the strongest boy you’ll ever know.”
Michael Solano said the family named him partly after the movie “Gladiator,” whose lead character is Maximus. “Max” also appeared unexpectedly during Maximo’s hospital stay as the brand name on protective eye gear used during bilirubin therapy.
“He was like, ‘It’s a sign,'” Melissa said.
The family keeps reminders of Maximo’s journey throughout their home, including a plus liver-shaped pillow signed by every member of his medical team and a map showing the places around the world where people prayed for his recovery.
The Solanos also hope that one day they will get to meet the donor family whose decision made their son’s survival possible.
“We thank God for the donor and their family every single day,” Melissa Solano said.
The family now advocates for organ and blood donation, hoping Maximo’s story encourages others to register as donors.
“Organ donation saves lives,” Melissa said. “And we’re just so thankful every day.”