LAI YING-KIT AND ELIZABETH CHEUNG
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 02 September, 2015, 4:12pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 02 September, 2015, 4:12pm
Stephen Lee''s wife at his bedside. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A dying patient in need of a liver transplant missed a life-saving opportunity yesterday when the family of a donor objected to giving away the person’s liver, a specialist revealed today.
The donor was a brain-dead patient and bore the same blood type O+ as Stephen Lee, 46, who is in a critical condition, Professor Lo Chung-mau said.
The liver was suitable for a transplant to Lee but the donor’s family objected to a donation, Lo said.
Professor Lo Chung-mau is an expert on liver transplant surgery. Photo: Sam Tsang
“It is unfortunate ...We are very disappointed. Our medical staff are all keen to help [Lee],” Lo said.
Lo is the University of Hong Kong’s head of surgery and a world expert on liver transplants.
There was another donor yesterday but the blood type did not fit Lee, Lo said.
Lee is fighting for his life after a transplant operation was aborted at the Pok Fu Lam hospital last week. Doctors cut open his stomach but stopped the operation when it emerged the liver donor had cancer.
Lo said Lee developed an acute liver failure after the aborted operation. Patients in cases similar to Lee could usually only live for a few days, he said.
An undated photo of patient Stephen Lee and his wife.
Meanwhile, a friend of the dying patient slammed what he called the slow response of the hospital in handling enquiries about organ donation.
Lee’s friend, a man surnamed Chan, said a few of his friends called Queen Mary Hospital, attempting to save him. One of them called at 6.30pm yesterday, yet they heard back from the hospital only at around 9.45am today.
“If you call 999, you would also expect a reply immediately,” Chan said.
A source from the hospital said that no hotline had been set up for one specific patient, as many others were also waiting for organ donors. She said doctors had also been involved in helping to call back potential donors.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1854688/chance-new-liver-snatched-away-dying-hong-kong
