EDITOR'S NOTE: Click here to see an update to this story

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland family is fighting for the life of their baby boy, who needs a heart transplant or will die.

But a $1.5 million price tag is standing in the way of his survival.

Rejected by the hospitals that could save his life, 10-week-old Laith Dougherty can't even get on a waiting list for a new heart.

“It just astounds me that our health care system would let children die," said the baby’s mother, Ghadah Makoshi.

Laith was born early and initially needed help breathing and for other complications. But his mother said he went home after eight days and seemed healthy until they noticed weeks later that he did not seem to be eating as much as he should. Further tests eventually revealed the baby had a congenital heart defect, Makoshi said.

Doctors told the family the baby's heart is too weak for surgery and the only option for survival is a heart transplant.

VIEW A PHOTO SLIDESHOW OF THE BABY

Now inside OHSU’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, doctors can only monitor Laith's condition. OHSU doesn't offer transplants for babies, and the out-of-state hospitals that do have told his family "No."

“For Seattle's or for any other hospital who thinks it's just, you know, a matter of numbers, and, you know, ‘Fine, we're just not going to accept that case,’ you're essentially writing a death sentence," Makoshi said.

The mother said Seattle's Children's Hospital told her it needs $1.5 million to give Laith a transplant. But the child needs a heart now.

“Probably what was the hardest thing to hear from the doctor was that, 'If you don't get insurance, then at some point, you're going to need to decide how you want him to die,' " Makoshi said.

She and her husband do have health insurance, but it doesn't cover transplants.

 “I just can't understand how anybody could turn him down for a heart,” she said. “I just don't.”

The mother said she is asking for donations and also for people to write their state representatives and senators.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP LAITH

Seattle Children's Hospital on Tuesday released this statement about Laith's case:

"It pains us to be in a position where we cannot provide health care services to all children who need them. We receive requests for financial support from families throughout the world and unfortunately do not have funds to care for every child in need.

We are committed to providing health care to children in the WAMI region (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) regardless of a family’s ability to pay. Unfortunately we do not have the funding to make the same commitment to children outside our four-state area. Patients who live outside our region are encouraged to work with their insurance company and members of their communities to raise the money needed to be seen at Children’s.

Children’s provided more than $86 million in un- and under-compensated care in FY 07/08 and that number is expected to grow to more than $100 million in FY 2009."