A child with cystic fibrosis is born with a disease that affects the lungs, intestine, pancreas, liver and sweat glands.

Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that line organs throughout the body. These cells do not produce enough fluid, which makes them unable to secrete important substances from the inside of the cell, to the outside of the cell. In turn, the organ does not function properly. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that only occurs in whites.