Tony, Sarah and Rosie Vargas moved to Cranberry Township eight years ago to be closer to Rosie’s doctors at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh after her two liver transplants. SUBMITTED PHOTO

CRANBERRY TWP — This April, which is National Donate Life Month, has special meaning for Sarah and Tony Vargas of Cranberry Township.

Since their 9-year-old daughter Rosie has had two liver transplants — the first when she was only 9 months old — they are well aware of the importance of people making a decision to be a donor.

Sarah Vargas said her daughter had to have her first transplant because Rosie has maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), a metabolic disorder so named for the presence of sweet-smelling urine, similar to maple syrup, when the patient goes into metabolic crisis.

Vargas said, “We found out when she was a newborn. It was part of the newborn screening.

“It was 1-in-200,000 chance. Both parents had to be carriers, and even then it’s recessive,” she said. “If untreated it could lead to comas, strokes or death. She was one of the youngest recipients.”

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