Raven’s Liver Legacy of Love
My name is Raven Davis, I am mixed- Anishinaabe, Two Spirit, queer, disabled parent, artist, educator, and cultural community worker. In November, 2026, I will be having a major operation done at the Ajmera Transplant Centre in Toronto to give the right lobe of my liver to my niece; Nylah, who is 20 years old and has fourth stage liver disease. I will be unable to work after my operation and hope to raise $18-20k to cover my basic needs for the estimated six month recovery. Nylah lives at home and will be supported by her parents, family, and our extended family. She will have all of the resources (housing, food, medication, etc.) she needs to make a healthy recovery.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, as of December, 2025 there were a total of 4,344 Canadians that were on a waiting list to receive an organ transplant. The same year, 678 Canadians were removed from the transplant wait-lists; of these, 31% had died while waiting. Learning this data and knowing how long it takes for someone to receive an organ even in life threatening cases, made me think about how important life and family is and more than ever. I thought about Nylah, and about how now more than ever, we should be showing up for one other in whatever ways we can during these difficult times of global upheaval. I made the decision to be a liver donor based on my values of community care and love. Please support my fundraising campaign. By helping me, you too are helping Nylah get the vital life saving operation she needs.
How Can You Help?
I'd like to start with the most pressing need- fundraising efforts. All funds raised will directly go to my living expenses such as rent, hydro, insurance, wifi, phone, studio storage, car/fuel, medication, vitamins, specialized diet, physiotherapy, and to my children so they can be close to me during the surgery. Recovery is expected to take approximately four to six months and I will be unable to do much physically in that time, making earning a living a major challenge. I know that so many of you are going through really difficult times right now, and finances are tight. Anything that you can offer to support will be greatly appreciated. Donations of any amount- from $5-$500+, to $5000 will make a huge difference in my life and in my families lives.
In addition to my online fundraisers, my friends and family will be organizing an event in Toronto called Raven’s Liver Legacy of Love Night of Performance. I will be selling prints, and other donated artwork. I also have a Throne account with a wish list of much needed medical and support items that I will need that will make things easier during my recovery. I will be recovering in two different provinces and will require support to travel to the hospital for follow-up appointments, make specialized dietary meals, and do my laundry.
However you chose to participate in my fundraising, I thank you for helping me, for showing up, and as a result allowing me to show up for Nylah. Depending on how the surgery and healing process goes, I hope to be fully back to work in the spring/summer of 2027. This is not guaranteed, but I hope that my healing is smooth and that I can be back to work as soon as possible. Any leads on virtual work such as public speaking, facilitating, organizing, cohorts/residencies would also be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for witnessing this journey with me, for your financial support, for your kinship, friendship, prayers and love.
Raven
Please Support my recovery by donating here on my Fundrazr.
You can also send e-transfers to my PayPal or email accounts below.
Email:
Paypal:
paypal.me/ravendavisart
Throne:
https://throne.com/ravensrecovery
Words of Encouragement and or prayers:
We are also accepting words of encouragement and or prayers that we can read to each other in the hospital. Please send them to: liverlegacyoflove@gmail.com
Social Media
For updates on my liver donation journey and the Raven’s Liver Legacy of Love Night of Performance. Please reach out if you would like to volunteer your time for this event.
Follow me on Instagram at ravensliverlegacyoflove
Facebook at Raven Davis
Interested to Read More?
Here is a short story of how I began my liver donor journey and what inspired me to do so.
When I was 15 years old, I became a part of an extended family that has since then been an integral part of my life's journey. This year I found out devastating news that my niece Nylah has fourth stage liver disease and was put on the waiting list for a liver transplant. Hearing the news of Nylah’s condition getting worse and that she was in desperate need of a new liver shook our family to the core.
As someone who is disabled myself, I know that I can give parts of me that have healed to give hope to someone I love who is deserving of a future filled with dreams and ambitions. I am reminded that sometimes life opens a door that changes the plans you made. Emerging from this shift may be something unknown and unfamiliar. Something that shifts priorities, and centres you in a place of service for others.
I have a significant amount of experience with the health care system and know how hard it is to not only receive the care we are all deserving of, but to advocate for ourselves within it. After requesting to be placed on the waitlist for gender affirming surgery over 10+years ago, and then finally getting on the waitlist a couple years back, I hoped that maybe 2026 would be the year I’d be called for my operation. But the universe had another plan for me. Even though I won’t be able to have my surgery this year, I remind myself that my body and gender lives wholly and sacredly within this humble existence, and in the vessel I was born in. Untouched, and unaltered, with or without surgery, I am still Two-Spirit and can provide health and possibly a new life. Not as a substitution, but as an addition to my story held within my body, in this lifetime, on this earth, and with unwavering commitment and love, and relations to others.
The thought of losing my niece was unfathomable. I knew that others in our family had gone through the organ donation testing but weren't successful matches for the surgery. One morning I woke up and knew I had been called to do my part to help Nylah. I was told by my surgeon that only a small percentage of people who go through the testing are actually successfully approved to donate their liver. I thought about my life's journey and health, and because of all that I have gone through at first I was pessimistic about whether I'd pass any of the tests, let alone be in good enough health to donate.
During the summer, I took a test to see if I was the same blood type- I was. That first step was just the easy part. I returned to Toronto to complete a week of intense testing. In four days I had over 40 tests completed. Mostly blood work, but also MRI’s, CT scans, echocardiograms, mental health assessments, and a physical endurance test. About 10 days after completing the testing, I received a letter stating I was a successful candidate, and that our shared operation would be in November of 2026! I immediately went into shock. At that moment, time stood still. I could feel myself breathing. I thought about Nylah, about helping her in this way. I also thought about the risks to my health and future, and of course about my three most precious sons, who I love the most, and who also need me in this world. This was not an easy decision for me to make, yet I felt compelled to help- after all I was a match, my liver is in good health, and my faith is strong.
Liver Surgery in November 2026
Since receiving the news that I was a match, I have been preparing for this extraordinary surgery day–mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I have been on a major cleanse, and have been doing what I can to train my heart for the upcoming 10-13 hours operation. In just under 10 days Nylah and I will be side-by-side in adjacent surgery rooms. I will be gifting her approx 60-70 percent of my liver- My whole right lobe. I will lose my gallbladder as part of the operation. We will be having the operation done by the Ajmera Transplant Centre in Toronto.
This is one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made. After experiencing medical misconduct during a previous operation that I had, I have been left with an unsettling fear about the medical industrial complex, believing I could never trust our health care system again. Despite this fear, I have never questioned my decision to help Nylah and gift her part of my liver. I knew that if one of my son’s life, or if my life were at stake, I would hope someone would fight for us with the same courage, sacrifice, and unwavering faith that everything will work out. And it will.
The bigger picture- When this is all over, Nylah won’t be carrying the weight of suffering with fourth stage liver disease and one more person will be closer to a liver donation on the list. Unfortunately, many people feel pressured to go abroad and get a liver through unsavoury methods out of fear and due to our long wait times. After my gift to Nylah, hopefully one more person won’t have to consider going to a different country and paying up to $550,000 or more for a liver unethically.
To be in service, to risk life and health, to risk an unknown future, and have complete faith that everything is going to work out is not easy but it mirrors the love I have in my heart for my niece. This is the work. When we say, we have to “take care of each other” during these hard times, donating organs, blood, food, housing, and resources is all a part of it. As I go through this incredible journey, I'll need your help to take care of me and my family so that I can make this gift possible for Nylah.
While preparing for this operation I’ve also had a lot of time to consider the global issues about organ transplants given the devastating reality of human trafficking, including the exploitation of children, newborns, and disabled people for their organs-we need more living voluntary donors to help stem
this trafficking. I hope by using my platform and sharing my donor journey, I will influence someone else to take a moment to learn about living organ donation and to consider donating. I also hope to inspire others to think about all the ways we can truly show up for each other, make a significant and meaningful difference in someone else's life while we navigate our current local, regional, and global landscape.
Thanks for reading and supporting me.
Raven Davis
