A Toms River teacher quietly gave part of her liver to a friend's baby

Courtney Olsen, a 37-year-old teacher in Toms River, saw a Facebook post in April about a friend's baby who needed a liver. She called Penn Medicine's transplant institute and asked to be tested. The baby was CJ Fischetti, born in June 2025 with Alagille syndrome, which left him without enough bile ducts. For his first year he was in liver failure and got nutrition through infusions, Patch reported. He spent that year on the NJ Sharing Network list and had reached No. 2.

Olsen kept the match a secret. In September the families ended up at the same flag football game by chance, and she met CJ for the first time. He had gone home from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on September 3, with staff cheering him out. His family said the donation gives him a chance to grow up with his sister and to thrive. Olsen, whose own liver regrew the portion she gave, told Patch she would do it again.