Fundraising for the family of a baby who has undergone life-saving surgery has been boosted by almost $13,000.
The Whangamata community has rallied around the family of 1-year-old Felix Alderson who underwent a liver transplant last week.
A recent fundraising auction raised almost $13,000 for the Felix Fund, and the money is going towards the family and the liver donor, Felix's great-aunt, Conny Kitely, who will be off work for about three months.
Felix had been waiting for a new liver since being diagnosed with biliary atresia at the age of 6-weeks. With biliary atresia, bile becomes trapped, builds up, and damages the liver making it hard for the liver to remove toxins from the blood. These toxins build up in the blood and the organ slowly deteriorates and malfunctions.
As part of the fundraiser, Tauranga real estate principal and auctioneer Frank Vosper worked the crowd as never before to extricate money from their wallets, raising almost $12,000. Other money, from entry tickets and raffles, is expected to bring the total to $13,000.