Liver Foundation honors family who turned diagnosis into giving
Kellner family, others recognized for contributions to liver community
A family whose experience with biliary atresia led to an effort to help others navigate the challenges of pediatric liver disease is among those being honored at the American Liver Foundation’s (ALF) National Legacy Gala, being held Oct. 29 in New York.
The Kellner family, who founded the Kellner Family Pediatric Liver Disease Foundation, will receive the ALF Spirit of Giving Award.
The annual gala aims to bring together patients, families, physicians, and industry partners to raise awareness and funds, while also recognizing people who have made outstanding contributions to the liver community.
“We’re honored to celebrate … a family who turned a challenging liver disease diagnosis into a life-long philanthropic commitment to help others,” Lorraine Stiehl, ALF’s CEO and caregiver to a liver transplant recipient, said in a foundation press release. “ALF’s National Legacy Gala is a beautiful evening of celebration as we honor the contributions of our esteemed 2025 award recipients.”
Biliary atresia is a serious infantile liver disease in which the tubes that carry the digestive fluid bile out of the liver are absent or blocked, causing bile to accumulate in the liver and damage it. Without prompt treatment — a surgery called the Kasai procedure — the disease is usually fatal by age 2. Even with surgery, most people with biliary atresia eventually need a liver transplant.
Helping children through treatment
Samantha and Andrew Kellner’s son, Raphael, was diagnosed with biliary atresia after his birth in 2003, and underwent a liver transplant in 2004 after an unsuccessful Kasai procedure.
The Kellners established their foundation to support other families navigating life with a pediatric liver disease, raise awareness for organ donation, and prevent pediatric liver disease through research and education. The foundation, now in its 20th year, continues to raise funds that support organizations like ALF.
The family is actively involved in ALF initiatives, including the development of the Bili the Brave Toolkit, a package to help children through the scary process of a biliary atresia diagnosis and treatment. Raphael, now 22, is an active ALF patient advocate and volunteer.
Last year’s Spirit of Giving award also went to a family affected by biliary atresia who established a foundation to raise funds and awareness for the disorder and other liver diseases.
Supporters can donate to the Kellner family’s foundation, which has raised more than $175,000, exceeding its $100,000 goal.
Among others being recognized at the gala are “a physician-scientist whose visionary research helped shape groundbreaking therapeutic approaches in liver disease, a renowned physician who pioneered minimally invasive liver surgery and robotic techniques for liver cancer, [and] a dedicated pediatric physician who led groundbreaking research in childhood liver diseases and liver care,” Stiehl said.
Benjamin Samstein, MD, professor and chief of liver transplant surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medicine will receive the Leadership Award for advancing the field of living donor liver transplants. Living donors can help reduce the time a person spends waiting on a transplant list.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Ronald J. Sokol, MD, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and, according to the foundation, “a pioneer in pediatric liver care and research.” Sokol’s work has “transformed the lives of children and families facing liver disease,” the ALF said.
Rebecca Taub, MD, will be given the Innovator Award for her decades of leadership in liver disease research. She is the founder and senior scientific and medical advisor of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, the company that markets Rezdiffra (resmetirom), which became last year the first treatment to be approved for a serious form of fatty liver disease.
The awards will be presented during dinner at the gala, which will also include a networking cocktail reception and auction. Henry Cuttler, this year’s ALF LIVEr Champion, will share his story of surviving cancer of the tubes that transport bile.
Tickets for the gala start at $750, but there will also be a free livestream of the event. Pre-event and remote bidding for the gala’s auction will be available two weeks before the event.
Funds raised are intended to benefit the 100 million Americans affected by liver disease through education, resources, support services, research, and advocacy efforts.
The gala comes at the end of National Liver Awareness Month, an annual initiative to raise awareness about liver health and disease.
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