According to the National Institute of Health, about 7,100 liver transplants were performed in the United States in 2015. One of those recipients, Ansley Mangus, is now happy, healthy and in her first year of college at Troy University.

Days before her fifth birthday, Mangus suffered a medical emergency while on vacation with her family that led doctors to discover a softball-sized cyst on her common bile duct. The backup of bile caused scarring in the liver, creating a condition called portal hypertension. 

“Ansley was flown by medical jet to Children’s of Alabama, a place that would become our second home,” said her mother, Leslie. 

Mangus underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove the cyst and recreate a system that would allow bile to once again leave her liver normally with hopes that the liver would recover and heal. She spent 10 days in the hospital before being sent home, but was admitted to a local hospital after three days. After a week of in-patient care, she was flown back to Children’s of Alabama.

After nearly two months of testing and treatments, Mangus was diagnosed with pediatric liver disease and placed on the transplant list in October 2011. Nearly four years later on Sept. 16, 2015 at 5:30 a.m., her family received the call that there was a match.

“Life after transplant is one of understanding the deep human connection that would allow a family in their deepest moments of grief to be able to choose to save another,” Leslie said. “Life after transplant can be complicated and beautiful and careful and adventurous, and full of love and joy and gratefulness.”

After her transplant, Mangus was able to return to a new sense of normal. Between managing a new diet and taking medications to ensure her body didn’t reject the new organ, she was able to join the band at her middle school and high school, volunteer with her mother at the nonprofit she works for, the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation, and now attend Troy University.

She was first introduced to TROY as a junior in high school and said it immediately felt like home. That feeling was cemented when she visited during Trojan Day in March 2023 and listened to Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. speak about his own daughter’s experience as an organ recipient.

“I have grown up in a small town where you always got this home-like feeling. The first time I stepped onto the Troy Campus, it felt like home to me. It felt like the place I needed to be,” she said. “It was nice to see a school addressing organ donation and transplant; I didn’t see that in some of the schools I toured back then. It felt like he wasn’t just speaking to everyone, but to me on a personal level.”

Seeing the Children’s of Alabama logo throughout campus and TROY’s Organ Donation Awareness campaign in April sealed her decision.

“I saw the logo on places around campus and that only reinforced my feeling of home. Then in April I saw the campaign TROY hosted for Organ Donation Awareness Month and that further fueled my desire to attend and become part of the family and community there,” she said. “TROY was the first school I applied to, and I was jumping up and down when I received my acceptance letter. I’m going to TROY for many reasons, but most importantly I chose TROY for the sense of community.”

Her desire to attend TROY was so strong, Mangus decided to use her Make-A-Wish to assist with tuition. The organization, which grants life-changing wishes for critically-ill children, granted her a $7,500 stipend that will cover most of her first semester.

“As a kid I dreamed of what I would use it for. My 10 year-old-self thought about using it to buy a flying car, or something outlandish,” she said. “I chose a tuition stipend as my wish because it will help with my education expenses and future career. It will also help with the financial strain my parents will feel because I am choosing to go to college. With my Make-A-Wish, I am able to help make my dream a reality.”

Mangus plans on pursuing a degree in criminal justice with a minor in forensics. Classes began on Wednesday, and she’s got a full schedule lined up with English, math, leadership and orientation classes.

“This week has been really great so far,” she said. “I love living in the dorms. A girl that went to my high school is in the dorm next to us, and my roommate has someone she went to high school with on the other side. I’m excited to finally be here.”