A southwestern Ontario woman, who has a rare blood disease, has turned to Facebook to plead for a live liver donation, which she says she needs to save her life.

“As some of you may know, I have been diagnosed with a hereditary disease, about five years ago,” Jillian Di Bernardo, 28, posted on Facebook. “…this disease is called hereditary hemmoragic telangiectasia (HHT). It has had a huge effect on the health of my family, my mother and myself.”

Her story has been shared almost 1,190 times since she posted in on Facebook on Oct. 29, drawing overwhelmingly sympathetic responses.

Her sister Genive Di Bernardo is using Facebook to try to find a donor, too.

The sisters say they are also using Facebook to try to raise awareness about the organ donation process.

Jillian Di Bernardo was diagnosed with the disease five years ago and writes she has become increasingly desperate about finding a liver to save her life.

“The biggest reason I am reaching out is to inform as many people as possible what I need to survive (and what many other people are needing as well),” the London, Ont. hairstylist writes on Facebook.

“As simple as a liver transplant may sound to some, in my case, it is unfortunately not a smooth ride to recovery, or even finding a suitable donor,” she writes.

She writes that, in most cases, transplants from deceased donors are ideal, but in her case, she needs liver person from a live donor with Type O blood.

“In my case, the live donor method of transplantation is what my surgeons are pushing for,” she writes.

Di Bernardo writes that a determination on the order in which donor organs are allocated “is kind of complicated, but to make it easy to understand, the system is a scoring system that gives you a number based on your liver function.

“The complications of my HHT have made it so I am actually much worse off than my score reflects,” she writes. “Waiting for a deceased donor is not suitable for me at this time, because I am needing a transplant ASAP. Waiting for my score to reflect that I’m “sick enough” will take too long. The live donor transplant CAN be a faster way to get a transplant, granted I find the right donor.”

She notes that Ottawa’s Senators owner Eugene Melnyk recently received a liver from an anonymous donor after making a public plea for help.

Last May, Melnyk underwent a liver transplant after releasing a plea on social media for fans to donate their own livers.

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“I am not out to pressure anyone,” Di Bernardo writes. “If you could please share my post, it just may reach that person who could end up saving my life. Additionally, it may create more awareness to the whole transplant community.

“I know I am not the only one who suffers with this problem.”

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