A Nova Scotia toddler born with a deadly liver disease is in desperate need of help.

Keynia’s father is doing everything he can to help his one-year-old daughter, including trying to donate a part of his own liver.

“My daughter was born with a rare liver disease – biliary atresia – which requires a liver transplant,” explains Keynia’s dad, Brandon Walker.

Keynia’s liver is choked with bile, which is toxic to the organ. She has already had one surgery, but it didn’t correct the problem. Now her best chance is to get a new liver.

“I want to give her part of mine to be for sure that she’ll get a liver, instead of waiting on the list,” says Walker.  

However, the type of surgery Keynia needs isn't available in the Maritimes, so the family will need to travel to Toronto for treatment.

All of the medical costs are covered, but there are still many bills that need to be paid out-of-pocket, such as travels fees, daily medications and living expenses while at the hospital in Toronto.

Walker has organized an auction to help cover some of the ballooning costs.

“The worst part is when you go through it – the surgeries, the transplant – the hardest part was when they took her away from us for the first surgery,” says Walker. “But she is happy, right? So you try to keep it off your mind.”

“She is a beautiful little girl who smiles and ‘coos’ and ‘goos’ and moves around as much as she can, except for the fact her colour is jaundice,” says Dr. Ewa Szudek, Keynia’s pediatrician. “In her opinion, life is wonderful, so it would be nice if we could help her.”

The family will fly to Toronto tomorrow to determine whether Keynia is a candidate for a transplant.

If so, it means Walker will need to travel to Toronto again to get tested, then again for more treatments and follow-up care.

“I’ve been reading stories on the computer about other families who have gone through what she has and they say when the surgery is done and they look in their eyes and they don’t see yellow anymore, I think that would be good,” says Walker. “It would be the world.”

The fundraiser and auction will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 4. at the Rodeo Lounge in Dartmouth.

Donations can also be made at any Scotiabank location.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl