Cleveland, United States – Surrounded by family and friends wearing “Crew’s Fight Club” shirts, Crew Dearth walked down a hallway at Cleveland Clinic Children’s to ring the Bravery Bell, marking the end of his cancer treatment after a lifesaving living donor liver transplant.

“Walking with Crew to ring the Bravery Bell meant everything to us,” said his mother, Nicole Dearth. “That moment was filled with love and gratitude. We were celebrating our Crewman, while also thanking his aunt, Taylor, who gave him a second chance by donating a piece of her liver. We will never have words for how grateful we are to her and to the care teams who carried us through.”

In March 2025, Crew was diagnosed with stage 4 hepatoblastoma after being referred to Cleveland Clinic Children’s for an enlarged liver and abdominal mass.

“We just could not believe our baby had cancer. If I was standing up, I would have fell to the ground,” Nicole said, reflecting on the day she learned her 11-month-old son had a rare form of liver cancer that had already spread to his lungs.

Following initial chemotherapy, Crew’s care team determined he would need a liver transplant because the tumor’s location made it impossible to remove safely while preserving liver function. “It was intertwined with critical vessels that are essential to how the liver works,” said Cleveland Clinic Children’s pediatric hematologist-oncologist Stefanie Thomas, MD.

Crew’s aunt, Taylor Dearth, volunteered as a living donor. “I felt like I was meant to be the one to do this for him,” she said. The transplant took place in June 2025, and after additional chemotherapy, scans showed no remaining cancer. Crew rang the Bravery Bell in October 2025 to celebrate.

Crew celebrated his second birthday on March 29, 2026, and continues to be monitored for signs of recurrence. His family hopes his story raises awareness about organ donation. “Being an organ donor is the most selfless, incredible thing anyone could do for someone… Taylor’s gift to us is the reason Crew’s thriving today,” Nicole said.

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