15 September 2026 by Pascalinah Kabi

When Lerato McPherson first held his child in his arms after he was born on 13 June 2026, he never imagined that the child would need a liver transplant less than three months later.

Initially, nurses at St Joseph’s Clinic in Abia, Maseru, thought the child was suffering from jaundice, a common condition that causes a yellow colouring of a newborn baby’s skin and eyes.

But within three months of the child’s birth, doctors in Bloemfontein, South Africa, diagnosed the child with biliary atresia – a rare liver condition that affects newborns and infants. It occurs when the bile ducts become inflamed and blocked or fail to form correctly.

“I have a three-month-old baby born on 13 June 2026. He was born with a yellow colouring, like when some children are diagnosed with jaundice. The clinic told us to put him out in the sun and that he would be fine,” McPherson told Uncensored News.

But things took a serious turn when the child was about two months old, on 14 August 2026. The child fell seriously ill and was rushed to St Joseph’s Clinic, which immediately transferred him to Maseru Regional Hospital.

“When we got to Maseru Regional Hospital, they just looked at him and said he needs to be attended to by Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH). He was admitted for a week and a half with his mother, with QMMH trying to treat him until they said he needed to be transferred to Bloemfontein.

“When they got to Bloemfontein, it was discovered that my child’s gut is underdeveloped and that bile is overflowing into the liver. That has damaged my child’s liver. The liver is beyond repair. My child needs a liver transplant,” McPherson said.

He said they were discharged back to Maseru, and QMMH told them that it does not perform transplants and could not refer the child to any hospital. The parents were advised to seek help from private doctors or provide palliative care until the child dies.

The child has been given about a year to either get a liver transplant or die. Desperate for his child to live, McPherson turned to the internet to research how other parents had dealt with a similar issue. He came across a post by a mother whose child was diagnosed with a similar condition in 2022 and had turned to the Lilaphalapha Facebook page for help.

“I took her contacts, talked to her and asked if the child is still alive. She said there was one Johannesburg hospital that required M1.5 million back in 2022 to carry out the transplant. She said the Ministry of Health assisted with hospital bills and accommodation in India. She said they were told to cater for plane tickets,” McPherson said.

Hanging on to this possibility, McPherson has written to the Ministry of Health, asking for assistance to keep his child alive.

“I have written to the Ministry of Health and I want to know, on whose doors should I also knock and ask for help? I do not even know how because I am still not sure where the ministry will help or to what extent.”